Postbellum for the Certifiably Insane
by SW4G M4N
Summary: The sequel to my first story, High School for the Certifiably Insane. The war against the Hyperion Corporation is over and the Crimson Raiders are now on a quest to unite Pandora. Although Jack is defeated, Lilith still feels grief from Roland's death. When she learns about the New U stations, she immediately gains hope of saving her lost love. Same couples from the last story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Honestly I had so much fun writing the last story that I couldn't resist immediately starting the sequel! I know it may seem fast, because it is, but honestly I really just like writing this stuff. So enjoy the first chapter of my new series! Oh yeah and if you haven't read my first one this is a sequel, SO GO BACK AND READ THE FIRST! Have fun reading and remember to leave a review!**

**Post-Bellum for the Certifiably Insane**

Chapter One: Things Change

The Hyperion engineer ran as fast as he could. He tripped and stumbled, but managed to keep sprinting for fear of his life. It was chasing him, and as far as he could remember it never failed to catch its prey. Up in the rafters he heard its footsteps, it was almost right above him. He had to keep running. The engineer's pants grew heavier as he grew tired, if only he had gotten the battle engineer augmentation while he had the chance. But no, he wanted to just build and repair instead of fight, his mistake. Hyperion had fallen so suddenly, he wasn't ready to face the real dangers of Pandora. After the death of Handsome Jack, the Crimson Raiders were hunting down any and all Hyperion employees, but recently things have been different. They had been targeting anyone with any sort of technical know how, no engineer was safe. The thing chasing him was something he and his co-workers dreaded most of all. Out of the four soldiers the Raiders sent out to hunt them down, this was the most efficient and ruthless. It was like it didn't feel anything, like each death was just a number to its kill count. While this cold manner of killing scared the engineer he did understand why, after all Hyperion had done they deserved to fall, and fall they did. The engineer was almost out of energy, he knew he wasn't going to escape but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try. Suddenly, the object of his fear jumped down on him, pinning him on the floor. He looked up with fear in his eyes and saw a black visor, dark and emotionless. The lone figure drew a blade, what looked like a glowing blue katana digi-structed from its hilt. Next thing the engineer knew, the blade was pressed up against his neck, dangerously close to cutting that vital artery. "The new U machines, why do they not function right, how do you work them!" the assassin snarled, pressing his blade closer.

"I- I don't know, they never really did work right, only some luck people got into the system sometimes and they were only there temporarily!" stammered the engineer, trying not to get killed so he could leave this God forsaken planet.

"How do you enter, how do you put someone in, tell me now or die!" the assassin pressed on

"Please I was just a lowly engineer, I didn't even fight! All I did was work on digi-struct technology, I never hurt anyone!" he wailed

The assassin didn't care, "Hyperion must die, all those who followed it will too, I swore to Roland!" With that the masked figure brought his katana through the engineers throat and tore it off. He called base with his echo communicator, "Maya it's Zer0, it was another dead end, they also knew nothing."

Maya's voice responded through the echo, "and you killed the guy anyways?"

"I was not so cruel, Salvador broke a guy's legs, then made him crawl back" Zer0 said defensively

"Whatever, just try not to kill everyone you interrogate. The whole 'answer me our I'll kill you' bit loses its punch if they know you're gonna do it anyways. Just come on back to sanctuary, Lilith won't be happy that we couldn't find anything," Maya said. Zer0 sighed, ever since Lilith had gotten that "message from the beyond" she has been hell bent on finding a way to work those New U machines. He understood why, the vault key had given them their memory of what had happened before the genie, which in turn brought up a lot of tender moments between her and Roland. Zer0 had tried not to think about his life before the genie, it only depressed him. He had unknowingly killed the one he loved, even if Jack had basically killed her a long time ago. He headed over to the fast travel station and tried again to figure out how the new you worked, but of course it was as mysterious as ever. Zer0 eventually gave up and fast traveled back to Sanctuary, now the capitol of Pandora.

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Maya finished her conversation with Zer0 and hung up the echo. She did not want to be the one to break the news to Lilith. Last time a mission had been a failure, Lilith had become so enraged that she ended up causing a dormant volcano to erupt, and while it was kinda hilarious, Pandora couldn't take much more damage. She decided to get herself a drink before breaking the news, after all that had happened with Jack's defeat and her memories coming back to her she needed something. She headed over to Moxxi's bar; ready to throw back rakk juice like it there was no tomorrow. When she walked by she saw Sir Hammerlock, who was sitting in a booth, wave over to her. Deciding there was no one else in the bar she'd like to hang out with, she sat down across from him.

"Well hello Maya," he greeted in his usual British accent, "come to get rather smashed I see!"

Maya rolled her eyes, just because you have a British accent doesn't mean you're a gentleman. "Yeah, Zer0 couldn't find anyone with any sort of knowledge about those New U stations, and I think I'm gonna have to be the one to tell Lilith."

"Ah yes, Lilian had been rather…erm… for lack of a better term, bitchy, lately." Said Hammerlock, looking around to make sure Lilith didn't hear.

Maya laughed, "Well she wants to bring Roland back pretty badly…" Right when she finished, Axton sat down next to Maya and gave her cocky smile. Maya groaned, ever since the start of their Pandora adventure she had always found him pompous, arrogant, and annoying, not to mention perverted. Axton always hit on her and she got mad and phase locked him every time, but he didn't stop. Things between them eventually got a little better as their adventure went on and the team learned about each other. She figured out rather quickly that his acts of bravado were a coping mechanism for the harsh breakup and death of his ex wife, Sarah. Apparently the dog tag with the ring he wore around his neck was Sarah's and so was the ring. She had given it back to him and discharged him from the Dahl Corp. Military when he had disobeyed orders for personal glory. Right as the two started to get along, they got their memory back from the key. After that their relationship became extremely awkward, she hated to admit it but she was attracted to the ass hole. "How's it going babe?" he asked with a grin

"Well pretty good until you started hitting on me," Maya said, trying not to fall victim to his charms.

Axton gave me a curious look and turned to Hammerlock and asked, "What's got her panties in a bunch?"

"Maya has to report to Lilith about Zer0's mission, quite unfortunate really," answered Hammerlock taking a sip of his tea (which everyone knew was just rakk juice in a tea cup).

"This true?" Axton asked Maya. She reluctantly nodded her head as she took another sip. "I'll do it." She brought her head up suddenly and gave him a curious look. Axton laughed and said, "I'll do it, I figured since you told her last time you deserved a break."

"Well thank you, that's actually quite sweet of you," Maya thanked

Axton looked at his dog tag, then to Maya and added, "plus, in a way I know how she feels…" He got up from the table and walked off towards the Crimson Raider's headquarters. "Well I better head off, a man just made an incredible new finding about threshers and I must kill him and plagiarize his work at once!" exclaimed Hammerlock as he jumped from the booth and marched out of the bar. Maya laughed and got up herself to go give Moxxi her cup back. She got up to the bar counter and saw Moxxi was looking at something under the table lovingly. "Moxxi," Maya tried to get her attention but it didn't seem to work. "MOXXI!" That got her attention. Moxxi jumped up and laughed, "sorry hon, I guess I just haven't been as focused as usual lately…"  
"It's happening to you too huh," Maya said, assuming that Moxxi was also gaining her memory of their time in prison.

"Yeah, things have been getting a little… awkward between Mordecai and I lately. I mean I already dumped him for Jack that one time, who turned out to be not so handsome after all, so things were pretty bad between us before, but now… I'm losing his business!"

Maya tilted her head curiously, as much as Mordecai hated Moxxi, he would never stop coming in to drown his sorrows away, even when he was tending to his new baby bird. Moxxi sighed, "and the worst part is that I'm actually starting to miss his company. I can't be attached to someone, I've got a reputation to uphold!"

Maya rolled her eyes and laughed, "Yeah, heavens forbid you actually get with someone you like."

Moxxi shook her head, "If you can, just try to get him to start dropping by again… ugh what am I becoming."

"This is almost sweet," joked Maya as she walked out the door. She waved to Moxxi and started to head over to the Raider's HQ to check up on Axton. Hopefully Lilith was taking the news OK.

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"What do you mean he didn't know anything," yelled Lilith, "multiple sources told us he was directly involved with the New U function of the fast travel stations!"

Axton looked away from her and said, "The guy was just involved with the digi-struct tech for the fast travel stations, he never had anything to do with the New U station…"

Lilith groaned and sat down in exasperation. She was never going to bring him back at this rate, God if only they had some sort of lead. "Has Mordecai gotten back from reconnaissance yet?" she asked as she activated the holo-table in the middle of the control room.

Axton nodded his head, "Yeah I saw him over at the new bar that just opened up. He's actually hanging out there a lot lately, probably to avoid Moxxi."

Just as he said that Mordecai opened the door and said, "No it's definitely to avoid Moxxi." He walked over to the holo-table and plugged in an attachment as it appeared up on the screen. "I snuck into the Hyperion construction ruins and grabbed these blueprints of the fast travel station, maybe if we can dissemble the one here and see what's not on this diagram we'll be able to see what parts are in the New U function."

Lilith answered, "We can't dissemble this one. As much as I'd love to it's our only way up to Sanctuary and we can't take that away. You'll have to take Gaige with you and check it out.

Gaige popped her head in from the balcony and smiled, "Oh hey what's up Mordecai, I'm ready to go when you are!"

Mordecai nodded then turned back to Lilith, "Alright, what about Zer0? Did he find the out about the New U development project?"

Lilith answered, "No, apparently it was a false lead. At least with these blueprints we're one step closer."

"Yeah, well if you need me I'll be going down to the bar," said Mordecai as he walked back out of the room. As he went down the stairs he saw Maya walking up and waved to her. Maya waived back and said, "Hey Mord. Oh I've gotta ask you, why haven't I seen you at Moxxi's lately? Last week was 'everyone make fun of Salvador when he gets so drunk he thinks it's karaoke night' night, you've never missed that!"

"Yeah, well things have been getting a even more awkward between Moxxi and I. Also I honestly don't really want to see the whore again, I mean who breaks up with someone for Handsome Jack, HANDSOME JACK! Naw, I'll be chilling at Rita's." Mordecai slammed the door as he left the HQ, so Maya decided to let him cool off for a bit. She walked up and saw Axton chilling on the couch outside of Roland's room. "Darn, you're still alive," she joked as she sat down next to him

Axton was a bit confused by her friendly approach, but decided to go with it, "Yeah, looks like I have a little bit better luck with women then you."

Maya laughed, "Alright keep your ego inside there, buddy."

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Zer0 was sharpening his sword outside of Scooter's garage when he saw Moxxi walking towards him. He looked up at her, wondering what she could possibly want.

"Hey there sugar, I got a job for you," she said in her usual seductive tone

Zer0 stood up and asked, "What is it you need, do you want something killed, I don't do fetch quests"

Moxxi paced around him, making Zer0 a bit nervous. "I need you to off someone for me." A question mark popped up over Zer0's head, telling her to continue. "Anyways," she said, "this bitch is taking my business away and I want her taken out. Her name is Rita; she runs a bar not to far from this garage. If you kill her silently or make it seem like an accident I'll pay you handsomely."

"I don't know Moxxi, I don't kill for no reason, what'd she do to you?" asked Zer0

Moxxi stomped her foot in frustration, "I told you, she's taking my business away!"

"I don't do that type, I'm no corporate killer, I kill for revenge,"

"Fine, she's taking Mordecai from my bar and it's pissing me the fuck off. Can you get revenge for me?" she admitted

Zer0 nodded and said, "I'll accept the job, make sure to have my money, this will not be hard."

As the assassin disappeared, Moxxi smiled. She was gonna get that boyfriend stealing bitch, but first she was gonna scope out the competition.

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Mordecai walked into Rita's bar and the place was hopping! There were people everywhere; Moxxi really was getting a run for her money. The blonde woman behind the counter noticed him sit down and walked over to him. She was pretty damn sexy, she wore a skimpy outfit with a shirt that barely concealed her chest and pair of really short shorts. "Hey Mordecai, how's it hanging?

Mordecai smiled back and said, "Pretty good Rita, Bloodwing Jr. is growing up fast. I think I'll take her on her first hunt soon."

Rita pulled out a cup and started to fill it up. "The usual?" she asked Mordecai as she finished the filling the cup. Mordecai nodded and she slid him the drink. He caught it and started to get to work on it. Man that rakk ale felt good.

"So I haven't seen many of your friends 'round here, when do I get to meet 'em?" Rita asked as she started to clean some of her glasses.

"Heh, I don't think you wanna meet my friends Rita. Plus, most of them are still pretty loyal to Moxxi because she gives them jobs and free stuff," laughed Mordecai as he took another swig.

"Ahh but that's how you keep them sugar," cooed a sexy voice. Mordecai spun around and saw Moxxi strutting in. Rita gave her a death glare as she sat down next to Mordecai, thinking the same thing as him,_ what is she doing here_?

"I can see you're all so glad to see me," Moxxi said sarcastically as the guy across the bar bought her a drink. She grabbed the drink from the tray and winked towards her admirer, who immediately turned a dark shade of red.

"What are you doing here…" grumbled Mordecai, who was starting to down his ale even more quickly.

"I came here to check out the competition sweet heart, when I heard there was a new bar in town I just HAD to come check it out," Moxxi answered as she leaned in towards Mordecai.

"Well as you can see we're doing just fine," growled Rita, she did not like the town seductress all over Mordecai like that.

Moxxi smiled back at Rita, happy that she was getting to her, "Well I can see that! Say did you know little Mord and I used to date?"

Rita was now getting pretty mad at the both of them and glared at Mordecai, who was beginning to cower behind his liquor. "Is that so?" she said in a dangerously low tone of voice.

"Yeah," Moxxi continued, "we were quite the couple!"

"Until she dumped me for Handsome Jack," said Mordecai, who did not want to get involved with Moxxi's games. Moxxi cringed at the mention of his name, which Rita picked up in an instant.

"Oh really, you dumped sweet Mordecai here for the now dead facist?" she said with a smile

Moxxi's plan was starting to go wrong, "Well you know how it is, you meet a new guy who seems really nice at first, guy turns out not to be so nice, guy burns your Underdome down to the ground. It was a classic love story."

"Oh, you forgot the part where you kick other guy to the curb and take all his winnings with you," Mordecai spat bitterly.

Rita laughed, "Well looks like you to had a great relationship, hey Mord I got a question?"

Mordecai looked up to her and said, "Sure, what's up?"

"Well over in three horns valley there is going to be a meteor shower that only happens once every ten years. It's supposed to be pretty cool, you wanna check it out this weekend with me?"

Mordecai looked over to Moxxi, then turned back and answered, "Yeah I'll go"

Rita smiled and turned to Moxxi, waiting for a reaction. Moxxi didn't seem to lose her cool though, she just smiled and said, "Oh don't mind me, you two have fun." Mordecai seemed a little disappointed by this reaction, but then quickly remembered that he hated Moxxi's guts now. Rita was a little disappointed with the reaction, but was content that Moxxi was probably tearing herself up inside, which was possibly true. "Oh have you met my friend Zer0?" Moxxi said as she finished her drink.

Rita raised her eyebrow in curiosity, "no, I've heard about him, but I haven't met him before."

Moxxi gave her an innocent smile and said, "well I think you two would get along really well." She then turned and walked out. Mordecai sat for a couple seconds drinking, then realized what Moxxi might have done. "Oh shit, she did not," he muttered as he ran out the bar after her. Rita looked at him in confusion as he sprinted after his ex. This was one weird planet.

**A/N: Well I hope you readers enjoyed my first chapter, and remember to write a review or if you really liked it, give it a favorite!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here is the second chapter of my story, hope you all enjoy! Remember to leave a comment.**

** Eckskalibur: Thanks man, I will try to improve on this story so it can achieve spectacular! Oh and I'm a bro**

** TechMonke: I'm glad you liked my last story so much, hopefully this new one will live up to the first's reputation :)**

** 00909: No dude(or dudette), you rock**

Chapter 2: A New Low

"Hey Gaige, have you dissembled that fast travel yet?" asked Liliith as she examined the Hyperion recordings of the fast travel development.

"Yeah, I actually have the parts that weren't used in the fast travel blueprints right here," she answered. Gaige walked over to the middle table and dumped out a bunch of pits and pieces of the fast travel machine. Lilith looked through all the parts of the supposed New U function. She had no idea what any of them did, but she assumed Gaige probably did. "When can you get to work putting this stuff together?" Lilith asked Gaige.

Gaige looked through all the pieces and said, "I'm gonna need a base, do you mind calling clap trap in for me?"

"Wait, what do you need him for?"

Gaige sighed as if this was common knowledge, "I can't just put all this together and make a New U machine, and Hyperion technology is only compatible with other Hyperion technology. Since clap trap was manufactured by the Hyperion Corporation, I should be able to build this stuff into him."

Lilith groaned, she really, REALLY, did not want to listen to clap trap. She clicked a button on the intercom and said into it, "Clap trap, report to the Crimson Raiders HQ at once." In almost an instant clap trap was there, well almost there.

"NOOOOOO," he yelled, "NOT STAIRS!"

Axton got up from the couch and grumbled, "I got him…" A few seconds later Axton was walking back up the stairs carrying clap trap in his arms. He put the robot down and then walked into his room and closed the door, not wanting to hear clap trap's horrible voice.

"Hello everyone, your clap trap unit has arrived! What do you need from me, a sexy back rub?"

Gaige laughed while Lilith was about to tear his eye out of its socket. Lilith calmed down and took a deep breath, then asked, "Clap trap, Gaige needs to install some new hardware into you. It'll be kinda like the invisibility update we gave you, except this one doesn't come with a watching naked women without getting caught functioin." Clap trap sighed in disappointment as he followed Gaige to the balcony so they could get started. Lilith shook her head and called to Axton, "It's safe, you can come out now!" Axton walked out of the room and looked around nervously. Once he saw clap trap was no where to be found he said, "God, that thing is annoying."

Lilith laughed, "Yeah well he has been useful this time around at least. As Gaige installs the New U function into clap trap, you and one other should continue investigating how the whole system works. The sooner the better, if we want to get anything done with this 'Unify Pandora' campaign we'll need his leadership."

"aaand you just want your boyfriend back," added Axton

Lilith blushed and said, "yes, that too."

Axton walked down the stairs and was immediately approached by Patricia Tannis, the insane woman that lived with them.

"Ummm hey Dr. Tannis, is something up?" he asked nervously

"No, no I just need a favor. Do you mind being a dear and retrieving your friend Salvador for me, he has something of mine that I'd like back." She answered

Axton thought about it, Salvador had been gone with Brick for a while to lead a campaign against opposing bandit clans. They were dealing with an especially strong clan right now and Axton doubted the two would have the time for this. "Sorry Tannis, I think Salvador's a bit busy right now. Maybe once he finishes his campaign he can return whatever it is to you."

Tannis bit her lip like she always did when she was about to insist, "Please, this particular thing is very important to New U development. I know I don't seem like an emotional woman, but I would very much like Roland to return to us. Now what he has is a lead on how the whole system was run and if we are able to retrieve it I may be able to crack the whole thing wide open!"

Whenever Tannis mentioned something about helping Roland, who was like a son to her, he knew she was dead serious. Axton sighed and said, "Alright, I'll see what I can do." Tannis smiled and patted him on the back as he walked out the door. Axton was admittedly nervous about this assignment, last mission she had given them was killing Terramorphous the Invincible, and dear GOD was that horrible. As he walked out to Sanctuary's square he saw Maya sitting on a bench reading. Tannis would have to wait; it was business time now. Ever since he had been getting his memory back, Axton was more determined than ever to win Maya over. He walked up to her and sat down, putting his arm around her like he usually did.

"Any specific reason you have your arm around me," said Maya, trying to resist his charm.

Axton smiled at her, "Come on Maya, we were so good together. Why not give it another shot?"

Maya sighed, she honestly didn't know herself, but something was different between them. "Things change Axton, I just don't know if I want to do this again…"

Axton frowned, that had actually hurt. The only time he could remember he felt like this was when Sarah had broken up with him, and that was about one of the worst moments of his life. He wouldn't give up on this one, he wouldn't let Maya down like Sarah, "Please Maya, I remember we were so happy. What has changed?"

Maya shook her head, "look Axton, can we not talk about this right now…"

Axton saw this was going nowhere, but he was going to get her to at least tell him why. He got up with a sigh and walked over towards the fast travel. Maya watched as he walked away. She really wished she could be with him, but there was one thing stopping her, she was with someone else.

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Mordecai walked up to Zer0, who was sitting on the roof of Marcus munitions aiming a sniper rifle. Zer0 turned and saw him approaching, so he displayed a smiley emote for greeting. Mordecai was not in the mood. "You seriously took up a contract to assassinate the new bartender?" he asked

Zer0 was surprised by Mordecai's angry tone, and answered, "I'm getting huge cash, Moxxi gave me the contract, her death will be swift."

"No, no," said Mordecai as he swung his arms back and forth, "her death will not be swift. Are you seriously going to kill a citizen, what about the whole honorable assassin thing?"

Zer0 laughed in a metallic voice, "I'm an assassin, what did you expect from me, murder is my job."

Mordecai had to stop him; he knew Zer0 never failed a contract. "But I thought you only killed for a good reason or legitimate revenge, this is just Moxxi trying to off competition!"

"That's not the reason, she has more personal cause, you don't understand," he said as he aimed his sniper through Rita's window.

Mordecai was running out of ideas, so he got desperate. He yelled to Zer0, "What would Angel think of this?"

Zer0 froze, and Mordecai immediately realized his mistake. "What did you say," growled Zer0 as he turned towards the hunter.

"Zer0, I'm sorry I said that," Mordecai apologized as he backed away from his angry comrade, "just please don't kill her. Whatever Moxxi's paying you, I'll pay you double."

Zer0 displayed the price over his head and Mordecai wrote him a check and climbed off the roof. The assassin sat brooding over what Mordecai had just said. He hated to admit it but the hunter was right, what would Angel think? Angel was the most kind-hearted soul ever; she did so little wrong on her own volition. She even refused to curse up until her final words to her father. When he had last seen her she was hooked up to that machine having the life drained out of her. Her head was half shaven so she could be branded on the side of her head and treated like an animal; it disgusted him. How could someone treat his own daughter like that? Zer0 cherished the fact that Jack had died just the way he had promised before losing his memory. When he had woken up, he only remembered one thing, finish Jack's life. Zer0 had not known who Jack even was for the longest time, but when he heard Handsome Jack's call for vault hunters, he knew he had to answer. Zer0 looked at his blade and saw his helmet in the reflection. Only Angel had seen his real face, and once he realized he could never feel her touch again it almost killed him inside. He remembered the first time he had kissed her it was as if everything was right with the world. Now she was gone, and her blood was partially on his hands. Zer0 decided to try and not think about it, the memory only hurt. As he walked on the roof towards the HQ he overheard Dr. Tannis talking to Axton. Zer0 leaned in closer as he heard Salvador's name, something about the New U, and then something that got his heart racing, "what he has is a lead on how the whole system was run and if we are able to retrieve it I may be able to crack the whole thing wide open!" If Tannis was really close to figuring out the workings of the New U network, he might actually be able to bring Angel back!" He heard Axton accept the job and followed him toward town square, where the lovesick commando stopped and talked to Maya. Zer0 waited patiently for the two to finish talking, as he understood what Axton was going through. When Axton finished he followed him over toward the fast travel station, unnoticed. Right before Axton activated the fast travel, Zer0 tapped him on the shoulder, scaring the bajeezus out of him.

"AH, Zer0!" he yelled as he whirled around in surprise

"Sorry for the scare," said Zer0, "but I would like to come with, I want to help you."

Axton nodded as he regained his wits and sighed, "Alright, just don't startle me like that. Nearly gave me a fucking heart attack."

Axton turned towards the fast travel station again and typed in the coordinates of the Eridium Blight, one of everyone's least favorite shit holes.

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Moxxi was chatting with Gaige at her bar when Mordecai walked through the doors with a victorious smile on his face. "Hah, in your face you dirty whore! I stopped the hit!" he proclaimed

Moxxi gave him a puzzled look, "And your calling me a dirty whore and announcing this proudly in front of everyone why?"

Mordecai was confused, wasn't this the part where she lamented about her loss? He tried again, "Maybe you didn't here me, Zer0 is NOT going to kill Rita."

Moxxi laughed, "does it look like I'm worried honey?"

"Aren't you the least bit frustrated that Rita's bar might be ahead of you in terms of business right now?"

Moxxi just pointed to a sign by her door and went back to serving drinks. Mordecai walked over and investigated the sign. The sign said "Drinking age, 17", but something was wrong with it. The number seventeen was crossed out and under it was the number 9. Mordecai took another look at Moxxi's bar and saw that it was crowded with not only her usual customers, but also a bunch of drunken teens and pre-teens to! Mordecai stormed over towards the counter and said to Moxxi, "You have no soul. I'm almost sure you've hit an all time low this time."

Moxxi cracked up, "Sweetheart, you forget what planet we're on. Just loosen up a bit honey, grab a drink, relax, I haven't heard from you in a long time."

Mordecai really wanted to walk right out of that bar and not give her a cent, but the rakk ale just looked way to good. Before he knew it he was drinking with the rest of him.

"Wow," hiccupped Gaige, who was totally shitfaced, "This stuff is soooooooooooo guuud."

Mordecai raised his glass drunkenly and said, "I just want you to know; I'm not enjoying a single drop of this!"

"Mhmm, sure you're not," Moxxi responded as she filed her nails

Maya walked in the door and saw what was going on. She walked straight up to Moxxi and asked, "Moxxi, what is going on?"

"Oh shitz, fun police," Gaige giggled as she took another swig

"Relax hon, I'm only introducing the kids to some alcohol so they'll have a better resistance growing up," said Moxxi, trying to get the responsible siren off her back

"This is low Moxxi," Maya said, shaking her head in shame.

Mordecai raised his hand and slurred, "That's what I szaid!"

Maya gave him a glare and said, "Oh quiet, you're no better. This is irresponsible, stupid, immoral…" Maya saw two drunk teens try to get in a bar fight and then collapsed on each other, saying "I love you so hard man." She couldn't hold it in any more, "HAHAHAHA, God who am I kidding, this is hilarious!"

"There we go," said Moxxi, "now I was thinking about having people pay for tickets to watch this stuff." She looked over and saw Sir Hammerlock taping the whole thing. "What are you doing?" she asked

"Making a documentary on the violent and rigid social structure of the teenage species," he answered as he continued to tape.

"You better give me a cut of the profits!" she yelled over to him, going back to cleaning glasses.

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Mordecai stumbled in the Raiders HQ along with Maya, Gaige, and Moxxi, all of them were drunk as hell. Lilith saw them as they attempted to climb the stairs using Gaige's hammer. "I know I'm gonna regret asking, but what the fuck?"

Mordecai laughed and answered, "I don't know if you can tell right now, but we are pretty shitfaced!"

Lilith rolled her eyes, "Oh really? I hadn't noticed."

"Wow, Lilith have you ever noticed we have the same tattoos?" giggled Maya as she stumbled after the group.

Lilith face palmed and said, "Whatever, just don't throw up on the equipment OK? If you wreck anything I'll pull your eyeballs out with a spoon and feed them to you all." With that last threat, Lilith walked to her room and closed the door. The drunken group laughed and collapsed on the couch. "Whew, I could go all nigh…" Gaige immediately fell asleep. The rest of them cracked up; there was nothing funnier then a drunken teen. Maya tried to get up, but fell down, then tried again.

"I-I forgot how to stand!" she said as she continued to fall down like a fool

Moxxi and Mordecai cracked up as she continued to sway back and forth until she finally reached the door of her room. "G'dnight," Maya waved as she fell into her room. Moxxi looked to Mordecai, now was the time to make her move. She jumped on his lap and wrapped her arms around him and leaned in close so he could see her cleavage. "Well know that we're alone, how about we get a little, bad…" She purred as she stroked his thigh and leaned in closer.

"Um-um" Mordecai couldn't fight back, not after being that drunk and Moxxi being that sexy.

Moxxi had him around her finger and she knew it, "C'mon baby, let's have a little fun." Moxxi started to loosen her straps and straddle him, pushing him so he was lying down. Mordecai lost control; he started to make out with Moxxi, tasting her lips with a passion. Just as the two were starting to get intimate Lilith poked her head out and yelled, "At least go to your room where the whole world can't hear you! Jesus Christ, trying to sleep…"

Moxxi smiled and dragged Mordecai towards his room. This was her night of victory.

**A/N: Well things got a little steamy at the end, but this is T so there will be not a lot past that. Leave a comment if you liked it and if you really liked the chapter, please favorite!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here is my third chapter, I hope you all enjoy!**

** Thorin Oakenshield: I hope it lives up to the first as well!**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: There will be more action once the story picks up, but right now I'm setting the scene.**

** BubbyGum24: And there shall be more clap trap to come!**

Chapter 3: Dahl Corps

Axton and Zer0 pulled up at the Crimson Raider's camp set up in the Eridium Blight, hitting as many of its diverse fauna as they could on the way. The military set up consisted of a bunch of tents, all pitched in rows, and a large tent in the middle. Zer0 guessed that this was probably where Salvador and Brick were staying, so he and Axton hurried over towards it. When they opened the tent flap and walked inside he saw Salvador and Brick in the middle of an interrogation. The tied up bandit was trying to struggle free, but he couldn't break the ropes that bound him.

"So you tell us where it is and we let you go amigo and if you don't, we'll make your death as painful as possible!" Salvador laughed as he approached the bandit.

The bandit spit in the gunzerker's face and screamed, "You'll never defeat the Queen of Hearts, she has more power then you bastards ever could!"

Salvador shook his head, "Wrong answer amigo…" He grabbed the hostage's arm and broke it so badly that part of the bone stuck out through.

"Tell us or next one we break is you neck!" yelled Brick

The bandit just kept laughing, "You have nothing to threaten me with, I will be absolved into her arms. I AM COMING MY QUEEN!" Salvador had just about had enough. He walked over to the bandit and snapped his neck like a toothpick.

"Ummm, I hope we aren't interrupting anything," Axton said uneasily

Salvador grinned and answered, "No problem amigo, what is it that you need?"

"Do you have that thing Tannis asked you for, Zer0 and I came to pick it up,"

Salvador laughed and said, "Yeah, I had the recording!"

"What do you mean had, where is the recording now, why don't you have it?" Zer0 asked

"The Queen of Hearts took it from us! That puta sent some of her followers to steal the God damn thing!"

"Hold on, who's the Queen of hearts," Axton asked Salvador

"She's a new clan leader that just rose to power," answered Salvador

"The Queen apparently has immense power, we suspect she may even be a siren," added Brick

Axton said in shock, "A siren? Another one is here on Pandora! Have you called this in to Lilith yet?"

"We have no proof amigo, we can't expect her to just believe there's another siren here."

"Well why haven't you gone and gotten the recording back? I'm pretty sure if we beat the warrior we can beat some bandit leader," Axton suggested

Brick shook his head, "She's not letting up on her raids, we have to stay here and help the troops. If we leave them, who knows what horrible things she would do to them."

"Then how 'bout we go, Axton and I will kill her, you two can stay here," said Zer0, who just wanted to get that recording back.

Salvador grinned, "Si, that sounds like a good plan hermanos. If you two kill the Queen of Hearts, her followers will lose all will to fight!"

"So it's settled, Zer0 and I will go after the Queen of Hearts while you and Brick hold down the camp! We'll be back in a couple days with that bitch's head on a stake!

Zer0 and Axton gathered their supplies and started heading towards the Queen of Heart's fort. As they left the camp, Zer0 swore himself something. Once he saved Angel, he was never going to let anything hurt her anymore; even if that meant throwing away his own life.

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Mordecai woke up and looked around, disoriented from last night's drinking. His head should have felt like it was about to burst, but for some reason he felt, well, actually pretty good! Mordecai tried to remember last night, how could he have gotten that drunk, but feel totally fine? "I forgot how good you where," he heard a woman's voice next to him. Mordecai spun around and saw Moxxi relaxing next to him in just her bra and thong.

"Fuck, oh fuck oh fuck I did not do that," he mumbled as he buried his head in his hands.

Moxxi laughed, "You don't remember a thing last night? Hah, that's adorable!"

"You bitch! You've probably wrecked my chances with Rita now!"

Moxxi glared at him, "Hey, you didn't seem to concerned last night sweetheart."

Mordecai couldn't believe he had slept with Moxxi, he was trying to get over her! Deep down he still had feelings for her, but how could he get back together with a girl who dumped him and left him heartbroken for a guy like Handsome Jack. Mordecai scowled at Moxxi, who was putting her cloths back on, and threatened, "If you tell anyone about this, I'm letting everybody know about the accent."

Moxxi heard this and spun around and growled, "You, wouldn't dare."

"Try me," said Mordecai

Moxxi decided to keep her mouth shut. If she let ANYONE know her real voice it would ruin her whole image. Her real accent was that of a redneck sweetheart, not the sexy seductress everyone knew her as. This was definitely not worth the fight. Moxxi stormed out of the room, leaving Mordecai alone. The hunter sat down and shook his head. "God damnit I can't go crawling back to her," he muttered to himself, as he got dressed. Once he got outside he saw Maya stumble out of her room. It seems she was suffering from the hangover he should have had. He opened his mouth to crack a joke at her expense, but she stopped him. "Do NOT mess with a hung-over siren." That quickly shut him up. Maya staggered into the control room and sat down next to a computer massaging her temples. Lilith walked in and gave her a snarky smile. "How's it going party girl. I have to say I never expected you to be the drinking type."

Maya rolled her eyes, "The last time I got this smashed was when Axton and I…" she stopped there, trying not to bring up their relationship.

Lilith noticed and said, "Oh yeah, are you two back together yet? You guys were probably the most stable couple back in the prison," as she began to check the morning report.

"Lilith you know I'm already with someone,"

Lilith sighed, "Yeah, and he seems nice and all but Axton is falling apart. I mean think about it, the guy already lost his wife."

Maya cringed at the mention of her. Axton had told everyone the story about his wife, how she discharged him and divorced him at the same time. He acted like he was over it, but deep down she knew he couldn't let go. "Yeah, he's had a rough life after the genie incident…"

"All of us have," said Lilith, "but it will get better. Once Roland comes back I'm sure everything will be OK. I just know it."  
Maya looked over to her, "You really miss him, don't you?"

Lilith started to tear up as she thought about Roland. Maybe if she had tried harder she could have salvaged their relationship before that bastard had killed him. Maya felt bad for what she said, so she walked over to comfort Lilith. "It'll be alright, we'll bring him back," she said as she put her hand on Lilith's shoulder. Lilith smiled back; it was so nice to have another siren around. Suddenly the two heard the sound of someone collapsing. They turned to see Gaige trying to stand up, her makeup smeared and her hair in ruins. "Ahahahaaa, everything hurts," she wailed as she tried to walk over towards them

Lilith smiled at her and said, "That's how a hangover feels hon, maybe you'll think twice before getting as shitfaced as you were last night."

Gaige finally reached the center table and collapsed on it. "I don't think I can work on clap trap today."

Lilith nodded towards Maya, who helped Gaige up and walked her out of the door. "C'mon, lets go get some medication from Zed," she said as she closed the door quietly. Lilith watched the two leave, then got back to work. She first called Brick to check up on unify Pandora campaign. Brick's face appeared on a holographic screen above the table when he picked up his echo device. "Hey slab, what's up?" he asked

"Just checking up to see how you two are doing against that new bandit clan,"

Brick bit his lip nervously, "Not so good, somehow the opposing clan stole a pretty important echo recording and now we're waiting for it to be recovered."

Lilith raised her eyebrow curiously and asked, "An echo recording? What's so important about it?"

"You didn't know? Man I thought Tannis would tell you first. This is a recording we found from Handsome Jack regarding the New U system development."

_They what?_ Lilith yelled at Brick, "A recording from Handsome Jack? Why didn't you guys tell me sooner?"

"I'm sorry, I thought you knew! Look, we got it handled, we're sending in Zer0 and Axton to retrieve it." Brick responded, not wanting to be incinerated by the angry siren.

"Alright," Lilith said as she calmed down, "just tell me when you have an update on the situation."

She hung up on Brick and went to call Zer0 and Axton next. She dialed in Zer0's echo number and waited for him to pick up. Zer0 finally answered his device, "What's up Lilith, sorry Axton and I left, we're helping Tannis."

"It's OK, I just want a report about what exactly you're doing," said Lilith

"We are hunting now, the Queen of Hearts needs to die, the echo will return," Zer0 answered.

"Could you just tell me normally, ugh never mind. Put Axton on," groaned Lilith

Axton's voice came over the echo, "Y'ello?"

"Axton who is the Queen of Hearts?"

"Apparently she's a new bandit leader that has risen to power pretty quickly. You know, rumor has it she's a siren," Axton said

Lilith froze, "Come again?"

"Yeah, a siren. She already has a bunch of cultists worshipping her. I wouldn't be surprised if she had some sort of unnatural ability, but I doubt the rumors are true."

"If she is, don't kill her. I want you to capture her and bring her back, understood?"

"Yeah, we'll try… Hold on, Zer0 and I will have to call you back," Axton's echo hung up.

"Wait, don't hang up yet! Damnit Axton…"

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As Axton and Zer0 approached the Queen of Heart's fortress they saw a small military setup right outside. Axton nodded towards Zer0, signaling him to go check it out. Zer0 nodded and vanished, entering his stealth mode. He crept towards the campsite, watching the glowing white bodies on his visor's display. They seemed to be professional soldiers; they were armed and seemed well organized. He looked around more and saw a logo on the side of one of the tents. It was the DAHL insignia. Zer0 returned to Axton and reported what he saw, "They're soldiers from the DAHL army, probably here to take advantage of this planet like they have in the past."

"Dahl corps? Shit, this is gonna be an awkward reunion, I used to work for them," laughed Axton, ready to take a little revenge on the company that had "honorably" discharged him. He loaded his gun, ready to go scare those soldiers right off Pandora. He and Zer0 walked over towards the camp confidently, they could handle anything these armatures threw at them. Three DAHL soldiers noticed the two walking by the camp and decided to try and stop them. They walked over to Axton and Zer0, their guns trained on the two raider's heads.

"This area is under watch of the DAHL corporation, turn back if you value you lives," one of the soldiers threatened.

Axton laughed, "Honestly, don't do this. You don't want to die a painful death and I don't want to waste bullets on scum such as yourselves."

"Hold on, I know that voice," Zer0 and Axton heard from behind the soldiers. The three DAHL soldiers moved out of the way and saluted as a man with short brown hair, green and black DAHL battle armor, and a confident smile walk through. Axton's cocky smile immediately vanished and was replaced with an expression of pure hatred. "Lieutenant Copper," he snarled

"Axton, you remember me! I mean I sure hope you would remember me, after all I was one of your C.O.s back when you didn't have a twenty trillion bounty over your head," he said, trying to piss Axton off.

"What are you doing here?" Axton asked as he moved his hand towards his gun

Copper shook his head, "I've been on Pandora for a while now. I must say you caused quite an upset when you killed Jack and his warrior, no one ever thought a bunch of criminals would beat the mighty Hyperion Corporation!"

Axton had had enough of Copper's taunting; "I should kill you right now after all you've done to me!"

"Tsk tsk, there's that temper again. You should learn to control it Axton, after all it is why your wife left you!"

Axton lunged at Copper, but Zer0 held him back. "He's just baiting you, you cannot hurt him Axton, nothing good will come," warned Zer0 as he tried to stop the Commando from killing the DAHL lieutenant.

"Better listen to your friend, I'm protected. If you kill me, DAHL as every legal right to retaliate and declare war on the raiders. I have have insiders in sanctuary, so don't think that I know nothing about your safe haven for criminals."

Axton calmed down and decided he was going to kill Copper later, but for now he had a mission. "Let's go," he told Zer0 as the two walked towards the Queen's fortress. One of the soldiers started to follow the two, but Copper stopped him. "Just be patient, they will bring us what we need…"

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Zer0 and Axton arrived at the fortress gates, where they readied themselves for the raid. Once they had finished the preparations, Zer0 nodded towards Axton, it was go time. Axton planted a huge amount of explosives at the doorway and backed away. After a brief countdown, he hit the detonator, which set off the explosives. The force of the blast tore straight through the gates and left a gaping hole in the fortress's defense. All the cultists were immediately alerted and started to fire lay down heavy fire on the two as they jumped behind cover within the walls. "You flank them, I'll give you covering fire!" Axton yelled to Zer0 as he threw out his turret. The turret exploded to life as it started to tear the cultists apart with its devastating missiles. Zer0 vanished and ran around the fray, keeping a decoy of himself behind cover so he didn't raise suspicion. The assassin jumped over and ducked under the debris from the destroyed wall, closing in on his first target. With a blinding burst of speed, Zer0 closed the gap between him and a nomad, killing the man instantly with a deadly slash. The bandit next to him turned and tried to fire at him, but he was to late. Zer0 brought his sword down diagonally in a swift swipe and cut the bandit's gun in half, then continued to swing his sword in a full circle. With another devastating slice, the bandit's top half was liberated from his bottom in a spectacular show of blood and gore. Time seemed to slow during each slash Zer0 made as he cut through the ranks of enemies.

Axton began to move up too, he jumped over his cover and bludgeoned a distracted enemy with the butt of his gun. An angry psycho ran up from behind him, trying to get the drop on the Commando. Axton turned and whipped out his tomahawk, then crushed the madman's skull with a deadly blow to the temple. Axton then turned towards a Goliath and charged it head on. Just as it seemed like he was about to collide with the thing, Axton slid under it and let go of a grenade. By the time the goliath had realized what happened, it was too late.

Zer0 continued to lay waste to the untrained psychopaths, each move flowing perfectly into the next. He saw a large skag riding bandit start to run towards him, firing off his gun. Zer0 did a back flip over the angry skag and landed on top of it behind the rider. The bandit turned and tried to shake the assassin off, but to no avail. Zer0 stabbed his sword into the skag, and then swung around it, kicking the rider off the angry beast. Axton finished off the rider while Zer0 delivered the final killing blow to the angry skag's head. The two looked back on the carnage they had caused.

Suddenly, Lilith's voice spoke up through the intercom, "How's it going you two, have you gotten into the Queen's fortress yet?"

Axton answered, "We're just about to enter her castle, but be ready to send reinforcements. I have a feeling we may have a harder time leaving with her then we initially thought."

**A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, remember to leave a review and favorite if you liked the chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys, here is the fourth chapter of my story, hope you all enjoy. Remember to leave a review after reading if you can!**

** Eckscalibur: Don't worry, I have plans for how to string all that together.**

** BubbyGum24: Yeah, Gaige is some of the comedic relief in this story, so i'm glad you found her funny!**

** deadpool69: I am a level 38 assassin**

** PurpleNinjaCat278: Thanks, and I have purposely not yet revealed Maya's boyfriend. But he will be known, he will be known! (Scarlet Letter reference if you didn't catch it!)**

Chapter 4: Play Your Cards Right

Axton and Zer0 began moving their way up the castle, killing any cultist that stood in their way. Zer0 had his mind on one thing, the key to saving Angel. He was not going to let anyone stop him now, not when he was so close. Axton kicked down the door to another room as the two shot and killed all who where inside. Systematically, they continued to clear and check every room to find the recorder and the Queen of Hearts. Zer0 had to admit he was nervous about the upcoming battle; he had never actually fought a Siren before. While he had helped defeat the warrior, and he was SURE nothing was more difficult then that, the thought of facing the wrath of a siren was frightening.

Axton's mind was not on the mission like Zer0's, he was focused on finding out why DAHL was on Pandora. Axton also had a personal vendetta against Copper, the man who ruined his life. While he knew now that his actions in the DAHL army were brash and thoughtless, Copper had been the one who convinced Sarah to discharge him. The bastard stooped even lower when he started to court Sarah, he had always had his eye on her. But his revenge would come; he knew Lt. Copper would get his. Right now there was the mission, the promise of a unified, functional, and free Pandora.

Zer0 stopped him suddenly. Axton looked to see why, then saw the sign above the next door. On the sign were the words "TURN BACK" written in blood. "What a charming welcome," joked Axton. Zer0 kicked open the door and the two moved in with their guns ready. This was obviously the Queen of Heart's room; it held a throne made from scrap metal and a large round table in the middle. The two walked through the large room, surveying the area for enemies. Zer0 knew something was wrong, there had to be something here. He switched to thermal vision and looked around again. Then he saw it, sneaking up behind Axton was the biggest needle stalker he had ever. As the stalker was about to pounce him, Zer0 jumped over Axton and swung sword across the creature's face. The blow knocked the creature back into the wall, immediately alerting Axton to its presence. The commando turned and fired as the creature snarled and disappeared again.

Axton switched on his thermal vision also, checking the room with Zer0 to try and find the creature. Suddenly, the creature dropped from the ceiling, barely missing the two as they dived out of its way. Axton ran towards it, firing off his shotgun while Zer0 gave him cover fire as he dodged the stalker's projectiles. It roared in pain as Axton continued to fire at it, then lunged at him. Axton blocked it by pushing the stalker's mouth away with the body of his gun. The creature kept trying to push towards Axton with the gun lodged horizontally in its mouth, but Axton kept his strength. With a surge of power, he swung his gun out from its mouth and into the side of the stalker's head, feeling it's skull fracture on impact.

The monster reeled to the side a bit, trying to regain its footing. Zer0 used this opportunity to strike. He jumped on and then off the wall the creature was staggering towards and stabbed his katana through the side of its head, causing a shower of blood to cover him. The creature threw its head back and wailed in pain as its life started to slip away. Zer0 kept his sword lodged in the creatures head as Axton moved in to finish the thing off, shoving his shotgun down its throat and firing two shots. The bullets exploded from the monster's throat and stalker finally collapsed on the floor dead. Zer0 pulled his sword from its head and whipped the blood from it as Axton tried to clean off his shotgun. The assassin looked over to the dead creature and felt no remorse for it. Even if stalkers had raised him, he hated the damn things. The stupid creatures had beaten him and bitten him so badly that his body was riddled with scars, including the one running across his face, the only thing they had given him was his unmatchable stealth.

"Well done boys." Zer0 turned his head, looking for where the voice came from, but it was nowhere to be found. Suddenly there was a purple flash of light and a woman appeared in front of the throne. She was somewhat tall with scarlet red hair and just as red lips. Her eyes were icy blue, cold and uncaring. The cloths she wore where vivid and full of life. She sported checkered red and white leggings and a tight white shirt with a large red heart on her chest that covered her top. Zer0 noticed the shirt only had one sleeve, revealing the blue tattoos that riddled her bare arm. The marks on her branded her a siren, which meant the rumors about the Queen of Hearts were true. "That was quite the show you two put on there," she said as she sat down in her thrown, throwing her legs over the arm rest and leaning back in a relaxed position.

"Where is the echo tape, give it to us this instant, we may spare your life," threatened Zer0 as he readied his katana.

The Queen yawned and said, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I did not come for a fight. Just take the thing."

"Yeah, give us the recording and we… wait, you'll just give it to us?" Axton asked in confusion

The Queen of Hearts smiled, "Well hold on there, before you take it you'll need to promise me a favor."

There it was, the catch. "What do you want girl, it depends on your request, give us the tape first," Zer0 growled, not willing to let his guard down.

"How about this, you two take to meet the leader of the Crimson Raiders and I'll give you the tape, sound like a deal?"

Zer0 looked to Axton, who nodded uneasily. He then turned back to the Queen of Hearts and held out his hand. She pulled out an echo recorder and tossed it to him, then got up from the chair. Axton pulled out a pair of handcuffs and slapped them on the Queen of Heart's wrists. She raised her eybrow at him and said, "Seriously, handcuffs?"

"We wouldn't want you pulling a fast one on us now would we?" Axton tightened the cuffs and then pushed her forward towards the exit. Zer0 waited behind and called Lilith, "Hey Lilith it's me, we got the recording back, there is just one catch."

"And that is?" Lilith responded through his echo device.

"The Queen wants to meet, she wants to see our leader, she wants to see you."

"Alright, bring her back here, just make sure you've taken the proper precautions, I don't want a siren attacking our city from the inside."

Zer0 agreed and ended the signal; it was time to bring home the hostage.

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Lilith was not happy with the idea of bringing an enemy siren into sanctuary, even if it was her own. She had no idea what this woman could do; her power could be extremely dangerous to the city's population. Lilith decided she would need everyone here for this transaction, nothing could go wrong. She opened up the Crimson Raiders echo channel and sent out a message, "This is a order to all important commanding officers from Lilith. You are all to report back to Sanctuary at once, no matter what you are doing. I repeat, report to Sanctuary at once!"

Almost immediately after she finished the announcement, ran into the command room. "What's the problem, did somebody explode?" she yelled as she readied herself for battle.

Lilith shook her head and answered, "We have a captive siren coming in, along with the echo recording about the New U system."

"So the Queen of Heart's really is a siren…"

"Yeah, apparently. See if you can contact you boyfriend, I think we may be able to use this forge a stable alliance with his employers. Just make sure he doesn't bring any of his friends with him; he comes alone"

Maya nodded and left the room, leaving Lilith with a bunch of planning. Lilith messaged Mordecai and told him to go contact Scooter so they could begin preparations for their powerful guests. She made sure Mordecai told Scooter to cover every possible base, making sure nothing could go wrong. While those two prepared the security measures, she decided to go do some preparation of her own. She walked into her room and opened up a safe that lay on her nightstand. Inside was a small piece of eridium, which she slipped into her pocket just incase she needed the extra boost. Lilith hated using the mineral, but she knew that it was a necessity if she wanted to be at full power. The small rock pulsed with intoxicating power; just holding it made her feel so full of life. Although after seeing what it did to Angel, she was more cautious with the amounts that she took in. Lilith left her room and walked down the stairs to the bunk area to check up on Tannis. She saw the scientist preparing a station in which she would analyze the recording, complete with paper, pens, computers, notes, and anything else she may need to figure the New U system out. As Dr. Tannis continued to set up she snapped at Lilith, "I have no time for tom foolery, I am very pressed for time and I must make sure everything is perfect. Oh, when are Zer0 and Axton getting back, I need to get my hands on that recording now!"

"They'll be here tomorrow, but right now I have something to ask you about sirens," said Lilith as she picked up a stack of papers and helped Dr. Tannis organize.

"And what would you like to know?" asked Tannis

"A while ago you said there can only be six sirens in existence, each with their own power, do you mind telling me what those powers are?"

Dr. Tannis took a minute to think, then answered, "The six powers a siren can have are phase walk, phase lock, phase shift, phase sense, phase shock, and phase drain. I'm sure you are already aware of the effects of phase walk, lock, shift and drain so I assume you a curious about the other three. Phase sense is the ability I believe your old friend Commandant Steele had. It allows the siren to predict movements in the heat of battle before they even occurred when active. Phase shock is an ability that allows the siren wielding it to release powerful discharges of eridium energy in different forms. Phase drain is arguably one of the most deadly, it allows a siren to absorb the life from another through contact, killing the victim instantly and adding to the siren's power."

Lilith figured the Queen of Hearts either had phase shock or phase drain, neither of which was particularly desirable. Just in case Lilith decided that the Queen of Hearts would be contained in a field that would prevent the use of phase shock and kept from physical contact to avoid anyone getting the life sucked out of them. If everything went well, she would be one step closer to bringing him back.

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After Mordecai carried out Lilith's orders and asked Scooter to build a containment field for the siren, to which he replied he would be happier then a Hodunk surrounded by sisters and or close cousins, he headed over to Rita's bar to have a couple drinks before shit hits the fan. The hunter had no idea how to explain what had happened with Moxxi to her, but he had to try. When he walked in he saw no one was there, the place was completely empty. This was strange; the bar usually had a pretty large crowd. He continued to investigate and saw a sign on the bar table that said, "relocated." Last time Mordecai checked Rita was doing just fine in sanctuary, he really hoped that nothing had happened. As he continued to investigate he heard a bell ring as someone entered the bar. He turned and saw Moxxi, who walked by him like he wasn't even there. She leaned over the bar, checking for any sign of its owner, then came to the conclusion that no one was there. As she walked out Mordecai called over to her, "Where is she?"

Moxxi turned and answered in an annoyed tone of voice, "how am I supposed to know, she's your girlfriend."

"Did you have something to do with this?" Mordecai pressed on

"Look sugar if it was me I wouldn't be ashamed to admit it. Maybe she just got bored of this place and skipped out?"

Mordecai wouldn't accept that, "Did you tell her about what happened?"

"Hah, and risk my real accent getting out? Fat chance."

Mordecai gritted his teeth, determined to get some sort of admission out of her, "Moxxi I'm not playing…"

"Of course your not sweet, listen if you really want to know I heard she relocated to the Holy Spirits bar. Now why don't you just go look for her there and leave me alone?" Moxxi said in a raised tone

Mordecai knew he couldn't leave now, not with an enemy siren entering sanctuary. He would just have to wait until this whole thing blew over to visit Rita.

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"I do not like this, she gave up without a fight, who gives up like that?" Zer0 worried as he and Axton pulled the Queen of Hearts towards the fast travel station.

"I know, but if we want to get the New U machines working it's a risk we're going to have to take. Plus we may be able to get her cultists of our back," Axton said

"You know I'm right here? Please be careful, those cuffs are hurting my wrist," complained the Queen of Hearts as Axton dragged her along.

Axton snapped at her, "Quiet! We may be taking you to see our leader but you're still a prisoner!" The three finally reached the station and Zer0 began to enter sanctuary's coordinates. As he did that, Axton started to lecture the Queen on the rules while in their possession. Once he finished threatening her, he turned over to Zer0, who then proceeded to click travel. In a burst of blue light, the three were sent to sanctuary.

When they arrived armed Crimson Raider soldiers immediately met them. "We'll take her into containment until Lilith is ready to see her, you go up to the command room, everyone's waiting on you two." Zer0 and Axton both nodded and headed towards the Crimson Raiders HQ. As they walked away, Zer0 could have sworn he heard the Queen of Hearts laughing quietly to herself. Something was definitely wrong with this, but he decided to deal with her later. They knocked on the door and an eye slit immediately opened, revealing Dr. Tannis' brown eyes. "Password?" she asked.

Axton sighed and said, "Look Tannis, you know it's us. Can you please just let us in?"

"Password?" she repeated, obviously not willing to let them in without it.

"Badonkadonks," grumbled Axton. This was the last time Tiny Tina got to make a password. Tannis opened the door and the two walked in. As he entered, Zer0 heard lots of arguing and yelling upstairs. When they walked into the command room and Axton saw something that got his blood boiling.

"What is he doing here," he growled, moving for his pistol.

Standing in the room with the Crimson Raider leaders, was Lt. Copper and three of his soldiers. Copper smiled when he saw Axton, "Well, well, if it isn't Axton? It's been a while I must say." _Awhile? You saw me yesterday!_ thought Axton as he took his place at the holo-table. Axton couldn't believe they were allowing that scum to enter sanctuary; he was going to have a talk with Lilith about this later.

"I suppose you all know why you're here," started Lilith, standing up to begin the meeting. "We have just received a recording of Handsome Jack himself about the Hyperion New U resurrection program. These machines have been stationed all over Pandora, but none of them have been actually functional except for sporadically resurrecting random individuals for certain amounts of time. Once we get the system up and functioning, we will be able to give life back to those who have had theirs wrongly taken from them, such as our beloved leader Roland. Now if you will all listen, I am going to start the recording, Zer0 do you have it?"

Zer0 nodded and tossed her the recorder. She pulled the echo tape out and slid it into the table. A loading circle appeared over the table, and then an image of Handsome Jack was displayed.

"Hey Angel, you know that New U system we've been working on lately?" his voice played through the tape.

Angels voice soon responded, "Yes Jack, it has still been a failure overall due to the fact that no one can seem to get into it."

"Well I was thinking, what if we made it so that something or someone could monitor the New U system and pick individuals who would be resurrected? I mean that way we get rid of the system-overcrowding problem and also we can make some serious money off of selling uses for the New U station!"

Angel asked, "Who would be monitoring the system?"

Jack laughed and said, "Hey Angel, I want you to try this on." For a couple seconds all that was heard over the tape was static, but then Angel suddenly cried out in pain. "There we go! Now you stay in your little chamber and don't take this thing off. I'm putting the responsibility on your shoulders honey, can you handle it?"

"Yes… sir…" Angel managed to cough out in pain. After that the tape cut off and the images disappeared from the holo-table. Everyone was silent until Maya spoke up, "So the controls for the New U station is on Angel's body?"

Axton shook his head, "Well this is hopeless, how are we supposed to find where she is? How do we even know if she still has it on her?"

Everyone started to debate with each other what the best course of action would be, suggesting a planet wide search, giving up, and DNA tracing. As the group argued Zer0 tried to think of where Angel might still be, then it hit him. The assassin stood up and spoke, "We need not look far, she is where we left her last, inside her chamber."

Lilith thought for a bit about the idea, and then remembered what had happened after she phased the vault hunters back to sanctuary after Roland's death. "Wait, I think Zer0's right. Right after Roland was shot and I sent you all back to sanctuary, Jack immediately took me to the vault to charge the key to the warrior. Her body is probably still there!"

"One problem, the place where Angel died was a Hyperion stronghold. The place is falling apart; it's covered in machine waste and dangerous chemicals. Not to mention, robots still patrol the area and we have much less firepower then we did last time we launched a siege on the place. Also who knows what has taken residence there, all I'm saying is it's not going to be easy."

Lt. Copper shot his gun in the air, getting the attention of everyone in the room. "That's what we're here for. The DAHL corps will help you get into her chambers, for a price."

"Whatever it is, we aren't interested," growled Axton as he shot the Lt. a death glare.

Copper laughed and said, "We will supply you all with DAHL troops if you give us one thing, the Queen of Hearts."

**A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Remember to leave a review and a favorite if you really liked it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Here is the fifth chapter to my story. Unfortunately, the update rate for the story may slow, as I am starting to receive more work then before. Sorry for the slow down, enjoy the chapter!**

** deadpool69: You'll see what happens, just keep reading!**

** TechMonke: I will try to be better about my grammar and spelling, but it's a bit difficult for me because I'm dyslexic. I mean I know how to read and all (or else how could I right this) but sometimes I fail to miss things like that. I will make a better effort to catch these things next time.**

** Blu: I will try to expand on their characters, but I can't have to many focuses. They are not the main focus, but more of comedic relief and badasses.**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: The one problem with Gaige having a boyfriend is that everyone around her is pretty older then her. I don't really want to make another OC, I have already hit my personal cap in this story.**

** RisingS: You'll just have to read and find out!**

Chapter Five: Déjà Vu

Lilith walked into Scooter's garage where the Queen of Hearts was being held; they needed to have a siren-to-siren talk. She showed her identification to the soldiers guarding the containment field and continued into the basement that had just been recently added. When she opened the door she saw a large orange force field humming with energy. Behind it sat the Queen of Hearts, bound with handcuffs and power stifling technology. The Queen heard Lilith walk in and turned to her with an insane smile. "Do you treat all your guests like this," she asked with her dangerously unstable voice, "or am I just a special gal?"

"Why did you give up so easily?" Lilith interrogated

The Queen of Hearts laughed, "Isn't it obvious, I wanted to help you with your little adventure! You seriously think I wouldn't listen to the recording that I stole, I may be psychotic but I'm not stupid."

Lilith still didn't trust her; the Queen was way to relaxed about her current situation. "Now why would you want to help us? All you've done is give us trouble, why the change of heart?"

"My reasons are my own, but lets just say I could get some use out of those New U stations," the Queen answered with a malicious smile.

Lilith knew that she wouldn't break, so it was time to break out the big guns. "You know there's someone here who's just dying to meet you," Lilith said smugly, "are you acquainted with Lt. Copper of the DAHL corps? He's actually offered a good price and some back up if we turn you into them. I was thinking about turning it down, but then I saw how uncooperative you are and now I'm starting to reconsider…"

This got the Queen's attention. The caged shot up and started trying to bash down the force field. "You can't take me back to them, I won't let you!"

Lilith smiled, satisfied that her threat worked. "If you want me to help you, you've got to tell me the truth. Why do you want to come with us?"

"I need the station to bring back someone close, that's all I can tell you! Please, that's all I can tell you!" cried the Queen, who wasn't so confident anymore. Lilith actually felt bad for her; she knew what it was like to want someone to return so badly that you were willing to do anything to achieve your goal. It was what she herself was going through at the time. Lilith sighed, "You have to promise not to attack anyone if I let you out, no matter what. One slip up, one reason you give me to make me think you might hurt my friends and I will personally insure your demise."

Lilith unlocked the force field and the Queen of Hearts walked out cautiously. Lilith then un-cuffed her and gave her a death glare. "One slip up, and you're heading to the DAHL Corporation," she growled as the Queen of Hearts rubbed her wrists, trying to assuage the pain from the tight handcuffs. Before the Queen left, Lilith asked her one more question.

"Why are you so afraid of DAHl anyways?"

The Queen answered, "I'd rather not revisit the subject, just let Copper and his friends know that I'm not up for grabs."

"I have to give them something or they won't help us," Lilith said, trying to figure out a way to accommodate both parties.

The Queen thought for a second, and then came up with an idea. "What you promised to hand me over after we finish the mission, that way I can find a way to 'escape'. You get your station up, I get your word that I can use it to bring back one person, everyone walks away happy. Well, everybody but Copper, but I'm not to eager to see him pleased anyways."

Lilith knew the wrath of the DAHL Corporation was harsh and unforgiving, and if they ever found out the Raiders had helped the Queen of Hearts, they would attack mercilessly. But on the other hand, she couldn't sell out another siren. There were only six of them in the universe, and she had already lost Angel. The Queen didn't seem evil, just a bit… off. Maybe it was the best choice to help her escape the corporation, who knows what horrible things they may have done to her. "Alright I'll help, but on one condition. You have to promise me that you will give it your all, as if you were one of us." The Queen of Hearts nodded in agreement and left the garage. Lilith soon followed her out; she really hoped she was doing the right thing.

As she walked back to the headquarters, Lilith tried to formulate a plan. Because of the chemicals and other dangerous degrading materials, they would need to send in people who would not be affected by inhaling the gases. Zer0 would definitely be on the ground, seeing as his mask protected him from the outside elements. She would go herself, seeing as her siren powers granted her incredible resistance to the toxin's effects and radiation. Maya would go two since she had the same immunity, as well as the Queen of Hearts. Salvador probably would come along, toxins or not. Depending on their supplies they may send a couple others in, the rest would be transported by air. Once they cleared out any anti air defense that may still remain, the others would drop in from buzzards, equipped with guided missiles (if all went well with DAHL), and create a perimeter. She, along with clap trap and a couple others, would then descend into Angel's chambers. Once inside they would grab the device and hook it into clap trap, hopefully giving them total control over the system. It seemed like a pretty sound plan, she couldn't for see any problems with it. If all went well, Roland would be back in her arms by the end of the week.

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Axton sat at Moxxi's bar trying to drink himself sick. He couldn't believe they were going to team up with DAHL, the company that had not only tried to have him killed, but also ended up getting Sarah killed. This was unacceptable; he couldn't let those monsters stay in this town. He took another drink and his vision started to get blurry, huh maybe he might get lucky enough to forget about everything. He finished his drink bitterly and waved for another. Moxxi handed him a bottle and asked, "Are you sure about this one hon? You look pretty bad already…" Axton just nodded his head and through back another swig, another memory hopefully lost for good.

He looked across the bar and saw Copper and… Maya? He observed them curiously as the two sat down at the booth, laughing and having a grand time. Why was she hanging around with that bastard? The two ordered some drinks, shortly after Moxxi walked over and handed them some wine. _Wine? that's a little formal_, Axton thought as he downed some more rakk juice. He then noticed they were starting to hold hands. Axton continued to watch them, now determined to find out what was going on. When he saw Moxxi walk back behind the bar, he waved for her to come over. She walked over to him and asked, "What do you need hon?"

"What is Maya doing with that bastard over there?" he asked in a drunken tone

Moxxi bit her lip, not wanting to tell him. Axton shot her an impatient glare, so she decided to explain it. "Axton, Lt. Copper is Maya's boyfriend. Didn't you know that?"

"Yeah right, a girl like her wouldn't be caught dead with…" Then he saw the two lean across the table and kiss passionately, how could she? Something in Axton's brain shattered; this bastard was once again stealing the girl he loved from him. "I'm gonna need some more rakk ale," he told Moxxi. She normally would have cut him off right there, but she figured he needed it. She uncapped another bottle and slid it into Axton's hands. Axton chugged down the drink as his vision grew even wavier then before. He started to lose all sense of time as he continued to drink, not even caring how badly his insides hurt from it. Nothing could fix him at this point, not even bringing Roland back. He knew DAHL was not to be trusted, but the only one that seemed to believe him was Tannis, who also used to work for the mega corporation.

As he thought on this, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see who it was, but his vision was so messed up it was extremely difficult. Axton started to see yellow cloths, blue hair, and blue jeans; it was Maya. He turned back around, not even wanting to look at her. As he chugged another bottle, Maya sat down in the chair next to him. "Axton, I think you've had enough for tonight. Please, this isn't good for you."

Axton looked at her drunkenly and responded, "You know whaz not good? Those assholes at DAHL and all who work for them! Why if I head a penny for every DAHL worker who was a liar or a thief, I'd have money!"

"What are you talking about Axton? Look, you're really drunk right now, let's get you…"

"NO!" he interrupted, swatting her away, "Don't touch me with your Copper soiled body! That baztard tried to have me killed and you've been romping with him? How could you, you bitch…" Axton started to sway back and forth and then fell onto the floor. Maya ran to help him up, but he just pushed her away and shakily stood up on his own. Once he saw he could actually walk, he smiled and said triumphantly, "see, I don't need your help!" Right when Axton finished his sentence, he immediately fell down again, this time he was knocked out. Moxxi jumped out from behind the bar and slung him over her shoulder. "I got him, he's just had a little to much. You go back and get some rest, k hun?" Maya nodded and watched as Moxxi carried the unconscious commando out of the bar.

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In a couple days, the Raiders and others were properly prepared for the raid. Zer0 had been focusing himself for the past days, not speaking a word. All he did was train, and train, and train until his skills were as sharp as his blade. He had gotten Gaige to enhance his cybernetic augmentations even further, adding new fields of vision and a more advanced cloaking device. The group had not even seen him for those days, as he spent them in his secret bunker hidden on the roof of Marcus Munitions. Once the day of the siege arrived, Zer0 was ready for anything. He gathered with the rest of the group in front of the Hyperion gate in Thousand Cuts. As people triqueled in, he looked around and tried to read people's faces to see if they were prepared as well. Lilith looked as though she had been training just as much as he had; she wanted to save Roland just as badly as he wanted to save Angel. Maya and Axton both seemed distant; Zer0 hoped they would be ready for the fight to come. He turned to look at the ruined Hyperion base. A green and purple mist coated the area, along with still functional robots that had not been shut down due to Hyperion's hasty retreat.

The sound of a car screeching to a halt caught Zer0's attention as he gazed upon the once great stronghold. Brick, Salvador, Gaige, and Mordecai all hopped out of the car, readying their guns. Salvador spit out his stogie and laughed, "Who's ready to wreck this place a second time?" Mordecai loaded his sniper rifle and nodded with a smile. Gaige summoned her feared robot, Death Trap, whose claws slid out, ready for use. Zer0 saw a fleet of buzzards descend from the sky, all with DAHL written on the side. As soon as the largest landed, Lt. Copper along with his squad jumped out wearing gas masks. Lilith and the Raiders went to meet them in front of the gate and prepare. "I assume you already know the plan?" said Lilith as she approached Copper. The DAHL lieutenant smiled and answered, "Yeah, we will distribute the rest of our masks to the ground team and your snipers and others will board the buzzard fleet."

Lilith nodded, "Oh, there are some other things we may have not discussed. Queen of Hearts, please come and meet Lt. Copper!"

Coppers eyes went wide and he spun around to see the Queen walk out from the shadows where she had hidden, completely unnoticed. She smiled at him and taunted, "What, you seem disappointed to see me."

Copper glared at Lilith and snarled, "This wasn't part of the deal! You were to give her to us…"

"And we will," interrupted Lilith, "but she wants to help us bring back the New U stations. We'd be idiots to turn down her help."

Copper looked over to the Queen of Hearts, who was smiling smugly at him. "Why are you so eager to help them?"

"Maybe I'm feeling charitable today," she joked as she walked back behind Lilith. Copper growled and walked over to Maya, much to Axton's distress. Zer0 noticed as he put his arm around her, the commando's finger tightened on the trigger. Lilith walked over to Gaige, Axton, and Salvador, handing them all gas masks. The three put on the spare masks and positioned themselves right in front of the gate. Zer0 turned and saw clap trap, Tannis, Brick, and Mordecai boarding the buzzards. The buzzards took to the air and the ground team entered the gate. Just before they entered, Zer0 heard a voice in his head, _Zer0 don't do this. Turn back while you still can, there's nothing left for you here._ The voice reminded him of someone, Angel? But it couldn't be her; he had seen her collapse and die himself. There was no possible way she could have lived. Zer0 just tried to not think about it, he figured it was probably all in his head.

The assassin walked in the haze, switching to electronic vision so he could make out targets through the thick fog. As he scanned the area, he noticed some robots patrolling the streets. Lilith obviously saw them too, because in less then a second she was attacking them viciously. The rest of the team open fired on the robots, who attempted to shoot back, but were over powered. The team broke into a run as they traversed the treacherous path.

As Zer0 followed Lilith and Conner through the different gates, he heard what sounded like Angel's voice in his head again,_ please Zer0, don't continue. What lies ahead is nothing but broken memories and pain._ Zer0 kept running with the group, he was not letting whatever this thing was stop him. "Get to cover!" he heard Conner yell suddenly. Zer0 looked up and saw a shower of missiles coming towards them. He dived behind an arch with Lilith and the Queen of Hearts. The Queen peeked her head out of cover, and then pulled it back to safety. "There's a constructer up the stairs that's got us pinned down," she reported to Lilith.

Lilith nodded in understanding and called Mordecai through her echo, "Mordecai, a constructer's got us pinned down, we need you to do something about it!"

"Rodger," responded Mordecai. Zer0 looked above and saw one buzzard hovering right over the toxic mist. A deafening shot was heard and suddenly an explosion erupted from the constructer's lens. The robot reeled backwards and fell of its platform in a blanket of fire. The team moved up towards the elevated area where the constructer had once been, which was also the base of the building that held Angel's chambers.

Three RPG loaders dropped from the top of fortress and landed in front of them. Zer0 made a lunge for one, cutting off one's shoulder rockets. Keeping his momentum, he swung onto the damaged loader's back. One of its allies shot towards Zer0, trying to eliminate its target, but the assassin was too quick. He sprung off the robot, who was blown to pieces by the second loader's rockets, and landed on the other's body, stabbing it in the eye. The robot fell backwards as Zer0 jammed the katana further into its circuitry. As the loader twitched one last time, Zer0 turned and was about to kill the other loader but someone beat him to it. The Queen of Hearts tackled the thing and jammed her fist into its lens and pulled out its power core as if it was made of wet paper. Once she grabbed the power core she closed her eyes and started to glow purple. The air around them started to heat up as electricity shot arced around her body in a blue rush. In a couple seconds, the electricity stopped surging and The Queen of Hearts stood totally unharmed from the shock. Zer0 watched her in awe as she walked over to the doors that blocked the elevator to the top and used a massive electrical shock to knock them down. The Raiders and DAHL corps followed her into the elevator, ready to take down the anti air guns at the top. When Zer0 entered the elevator, what he was now sure was Angels voice contacted him, _please Zer0, you don't know what you're doing! Please don't let them in!_ There was no denying it; some essence of Angel was somehow alive.

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When the elevator reached the top, the group stepped out and readied themselves for a fight. Zer0 remembered the place immediately; it was where he and the others fought the BNK3R defense aircraft. The three rings of platforms still remained, although covered in the remains of robots and dead slabs. He noticed they were over the fog now, but now the problem of the anti aircraft guns arose. He followed Lilith, Copper, and the others as they walked up the rings and towards the top of the skyscraper. Once they arrived, they saw the still smoldering remains of the huge BNK3R, mangled and destroyed. "Damn, you guys fought that thing?" Copper said in surprise.

Maya smiled, "Yeah, when we came here first it was to steal the vault key from Jack and well, kill Angel…"

"It was a glorious moment when the thing exploded, it burst like a piñata! Guns and other loot were raining down on us, I have almost never been so happy!" Salvador exclaimed as he kicked the downed robot.

"Let's focus on why we're here team. We still need to take out those anti-air guns so the buzzards can land. Axton nodded to her and walked over to the first anti-air gun and planted charges.

"5…4…3…2…1!" he counted down. The explosion tore apart the defense turret, wrecking its spawning system as well. As soon as the gun was destroyed, a blaring alarm went off and five badass loaders rocketed up to their platform. The loaders all pointed their guns towards the group threateningly, and started to close in. Zer0 tried to think of a plan as the loaders closed in. _Zer0, your deception!_ Angel's voice suggested. Zer0 decided to try the idea, and he disappeared leaving his dummy acting as if it was submitting. He ran and slid under one of the robots, positioning himself to strike. Zer0 took a deep breath; he had only had a split second to kill the thing if he wanted his friends to live through this. The badass loader's guns started to glow red; it was now or never. The assassin jumped onto the loader's back and pulled it backwards, stabbing his katana through it while doing so. The loader tripped backwards and launched its missiles into the sky, causing enough of a distraction for the rest of the group to jump into action.

Axton threw down his turret, which covered him as he went to work on the rest of the guns. Maya phase locked one and pulled two others towards it. Lilith finished off the loaders with a powerful phase blast, which tore the robots apart. As more robots arrived, Axton continued to destroy the defense turrets. Salvador laughed as he duel wielded rocket launchers and started to fire them off. The robots couldn't escape the gunzerking dwarf's psychopathic rampage. As he continued to wreck havoc, he yelled, "Make my day putas! This is the most fun I've had in years!" The Queen of Hearts shot out arcs of lightning, frying each robot the tendrils of electricity touched. She snickered at the fiery destruction she was causing, oh how well this was going for her.

Copper started putting his military training to work, racking up his kill count with his powerful pump action shot gun. Two EXP loaders ran towards him on each side, but they couldn't stop the soldier. Copper threw his shotgun towards one of them, which knocked it off the edge as the gun ricocheted off its body. As the other robot got dangerously close, Lt. Copper rolled backwards and caught his shotgun, then fired a perfect burst straight into the EXP loader's core. Three war loaders surrounded him, ready to unleash their barrage until two of them were cut in half. Zer0 ran by Copper like the wind, but tossed a grenade into the air when he passed. Connor caught the active grenade and threw it at the last loader, causing it to explode on impact.

Zer0 continued to run through the battle, slicing and dicing each loader that dared get too close. When he ran he felt super aware of all his surroundings. The advanced enhancements Gaige had built him heightened his senses to the point where he could respond in a millisecond to any potential threat. Zer0 cut through another loader, then jumped over the next as Salvador tore it apart with two mini guns. He landed on another loader and stabbed it through the eye, then swung around his sword, kicking back the robots that were close to it. Lilith caught one of the loaders that was knocked back from the kick and used a phase blast to send it flying towards the rest.

As they continued to fight off hoards of robots, Axton yelled, "Here goes the last one!" With a loud explosion, the last turret erupted into flames, taking out several loaders with it. Over the echo cast, the ground team heard Brick's voice. "Alright boys, you ready for this!" Out of the clouds flew the fleet of buzzards, led by none other then Brick. The armada unleashed a volley of missiles that started to speed towards the platform. "Dive to the outer rings!" yelled Lilith as she jumped onto the ring surrounding the circle as the missiles grew closer to their target. The whole group soon realized what was happening and followed her. As they dived to the outside, the middle circle was lit up with explosions and fire.

Zer0 managed to stand up and looked as the buzzards made their landing. Out of the helicopters jumped Gaige, Mordecai, Brick, clap trap, and Tannis. The five ran over and met up with the ground team so they could enter the chambers. Lilith lead them to the elevator that would take them to their objective. As they walked towards it, Gaige got together her equipment for whatever modifications she may need to make to clap trap once they got ahold of the New U system control. Axton took a sip of water from his cantina, then tossed it over to Salvador, who finished it off in one gulp. Maya mentally prepared herself to return to the place where everything had gone so wrong, where she lost two of her greatest friends.

"Tannis, do you have the voice recording?" asked Lilith as they entered the elevator that would take them to Angel's room.

Tannis nodded and held up a recorder. She clicked play and Jack's voice played through the device. "I love you," it said in a solemn voice, just as Axton, Maya, Zer0, and Salvador had when they had first gone through Angel's chambers. The elevator shook to life and started to slide downwards into the room. _Hold on Angel_, thought Zer0,_ I'm coming for you_.

**A/N: Now I know I did not elaborate too much on the whole CopperxMaya relationship, but I will explain backgrounds soon enough. And for those of you who are angry about those two getting together, just stick with it. I don't like Copper with Maya as much as you don't ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I hope you all enjoy my sixth chapter! Remember to leave a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.**

** ConfettiConfederacy: I'm glad you liked the story so much, and don't worry. Axton will make stupid decisions throughout this story!**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: Thanks for understanding. As weird as it seems for me and all my OC characters, I actually am usually against OCs most of the time. The problem I have with them is people usually try to insert themselves into the story, making their OC insanely over powered to the point where it takes away from the story. I've gone through this site and seen one to many instances where the OC the author makes ends up hooking up with his favorite girl character (or boy character if your a girl author) and being close to omnipotent. What's worse, they usually end up making the real character's significant other look like an ass. Now I'm not saying that one can never have an OC main character, some do it very well. Just please, don't make them like God, Jesus, and Batman combined. Sorry that was a long response, but I am passionate about that topic!**

Chapter Six: The New U

The Crimson Raiders and DAHL troopers walked through the large doors that led to the room that was once Angel's chambers and the vault key. For Lilith, Zer0, Axton, Maya, Gaige, and Salvador, memories of the intense battle they had fought in this room to destroy Angel's eridium injectors and steal the vault key flooded back. The room still seemed the same even after the rest of the stronghold that guarded it was in complete ruins. The only thing different was there was no Handsome Jack begging them to spare Angel, no loaders trying to kill them, and, well, no Angel. Lilith looked upon the wretched machine that had trapped the poor girl and drained her until she had nothing left to keep her alive. The injectors still hung, destroyed, just as they had when the seven vault hunters had left them. Inside the machine was a large, gold casket looking box. It floated majestically upright in the middle where Angel had once been, bobbing ever so slightly up and down.

Gaige pulled up a hologram screen on her cybernetic arm and started to type some codes in. When she was finished she pointed to the casket and said, "The device should still be on Angel. I think this is where her body is being preserved."

"Alright so lets just crack it open and grab the damn thing," Copper suggested as he pulled a crowbar from his pack. When he started to walk over, Zer0 stopped him.

"We can't just grave rob, it's disrespectful to her, I will not let you," he threatened as he held his sword in front of the Lieutenant's path.

Lilith nodded in agreement, "I think we should find a way to just scan and download the schematics so we can just build a new one. Angel deserves to be left in peace after all she's been through."

Gaige nodded stuck her robotic arm out towards the coffin and a blue light emitted from her wrist. It moved up and down the box and then disappeared, bringing the electronic data of everything inside to her. Gaige started to get to work pulling apart the New U device from the rest of the coffin's high tech functions, such as internal time warping to keep the body inside just as it was right after death. As she looked at the screen, she frowned. "What's wrong?" asked Lilith, hoping they had not come all this way for nothing.

"Nothing, it's just… something is trying to block me from getting the schematics. It's okay though, whatever it is couldn't keep me out of its system!" she answered as she continued to put together the design. Once she finished, she clicked the digi-struct button and small headpiece spawned in her hand. Gaige tossed the device to Lilith, who caught it carefully. She examined the control piece and looked over to Gaige for instructions. "Don't ask me," Gaige said, "That thing uses eridian technology. That stuff isn't my strong suit."

"You must use your siren abilities to activate it. Focus your mind on the device and channel your power through it." Tannis instructed while she read over her notes on the system. Lilith put it on her head and an eyepiece flipped down in front of her. Suddenly, she felt like she was being pulled into cyberspace. Blue lights flashed around her as numbers and codes flew in front of her eyes. The names of everyone who had ever died on Pandora opened up in front of her, it was incredible! Lilith focused her mind on Roland, the man she loved and would not let go of. The names started to spin rapidly until the list stopped. The name "Roland" enlarged and a picture of him appeared before her. She gasped as she saw a perfect image of him constructed in front of her, the machine could actually work! An option appeared on the screen that said, "resurrect Roland?" Lilith focused in on the button, causing it to flash green. She was then pulled out of the cyberspace looking vision and back into reality. Axton and Salvador ran up and caught her as she fell forward in exhaustion, and then carried her back to the group.

Zer0 looked over and saw Lilith being carried by Salvador and Axton over to them, probably to give them a report. For some reason, Zer0 noticed, Angel's coffin was starting to faintly glow white, emitting a pulse that would cause the display on his helmet to momentarily go fuzzy. Gaige obviously noticed that it was interfering with her electronics too, because she started to carefully observe the coffin, trying to figure out what was wrong. Zer0 tried to put together what he had heard, Angel's voice, the pulse, and the electronic interference. Could Angel possibly be alive after all that had happened? Zer0 threw that thought out immediately, there was no possible way; she had stopped breathing right before his very eyes. Once the three reached the group, everyone looked over to clap trap expectantly. The robot looked around at them in confusion. "What? Do I have motor oil on my face? Not that I ever do! I don't like guy robots!"

"I don't get it, what happened?! Roland was supposed to come back!" Lilith yelled in frustration. Gaige ran over to clap trap and started to examine him.

"I don't get it, clap trap has been equipped with all the necessary equipment. I just did a diagnostic, but I can't find anything wrong! He should be completely compatible," Gaige said as she tried to find the problem. Zer0 noticed the coffin was starting to glow even brighter, pulsing with even more energy, causing his display to temporarily shut on and off. Gaige frantically tried to find the problem, growing more desperate while clap trap watched her confusedly. Lilith dropped to her knees and started to cry. "I'm sorry Roland, I failed you…" All the vault hunters bowed their head in respect for their fallen comrade once again. Zer0 put his hand on Lilith's shoulder reassuringly, for he knew exactly how she felt. As sad as he was, he didn't cry. He would never cry for this. "I don't get it, this should have worked. Everything was set up perfectly!" Gaige said in frustration.

As the Crimson Raiders mourned the loss of their beloved leader, they heard a woman laughing. They turned and saw the Queen of Hearts standing over them with her siren wings fully exposed, her eyes glowing blood red. "It's alright, give me the head piece and we'll finish what you bandits couldn't," she taunted.

"What are you talking about," Lilith growled as she turned threateningly as she turned towards the red siren.

The Queen smirked then turned to Lt. Copper and a barked, "Copper, take the Raiders prisoner, we're done here." Copper nodded and motioned for his team, who then surrounded the Raiders. "Allen, what are you doing?" Maya yelled as she backed away from the armed soldiers.

"Sorry honey, but I think we should see other people," he laughed as he pulled out a slew of handcuffs. He started towards Maya, swinging one of the cuffs around his finger while he did so. Maya stuck out her arm, preparing a phase lock, but Copper predicted as much. He ran towards Maya and cuffed one arm, swinging her around and attaching the other shackle to her left hand. Maya was pushed down and dragged towards the others, who were also now in handcuffs. The Queen of Hearts walked over towards them and bent down, leveling herself with Lilith. "What is the meaning of this Queen of Hearts? I thought you hated DAHL!" she growled as she looked at her captor

"I was playing you all the whole time, no one associates the 'scared siren' with the big bad mega corporation. And please, call me Katelyn Dahl. That bandit nickname is getting so old," said Katelyn as she stood up straight. As she looked at the captured group, she realized something. "One of them is missing," she barked, "find him before…" She was cut off by the scream of a DAHL trooper. Copper brought his gun up and looked down the sights, trying to find the assailant. Another thud was heard and Katelyn spun around, her arms glowing with electrical power. Someone's gun went off and caused a short flash. Katelyn spun around and shot a bolt of electricity towards the spot where the noise came from. "Miss Dahl, look out!" she heard Copper yell. She spun around and saw Zer0 sprinting at her with his sword drawn, ready to strike. Dahl smiled and shot an arc of lightning towards him, knocking the assassin back into the machine that had once held Angel.

Zer0 started to stand up, his vision fuzzy from the burst of electricity that he had just withstood, but immediately felt the pain of another shock shoot through his body.

"You're a sneaky little bastard, you know that?" Katelyn said as she approached him. She put her bare hand on Zer0's helmet; he could feel his power starting to leave him. "Once I tear off that helmet of yours, I think I'll take those skills and that sword for myself." As she started to pull of his helmet, a huge burst of white light emitted from the coffin. The flash disoriented everyone in the room, causing Katelyn to let go of Zer0's helmet. Zer0 turned and put his arm in front of his eyes, as the light was so blinding that he had to force himself to look towards it. Two huge, white energy wings extended from the glow and surrounded him. Suddenly, he felt his body begin to lose form. Zer0 looked to his hands as they started to digi-struct away, along with the rest of him. As he started to fade, he looked and saw Copper trying to shoot at them, but some sort of force field blocked all his shots. "Take the rest of them to sanctuary. He will show up later…" Zer0 heard Katelyn say right before he totally disappeared.

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When the captured Raiders were dragged back to sanctuary, they saw the city was under total control of the DAHL Corporation. Katelyn smiled and said, "welcome to the new sanctuary, now headquarters for DAHL military operations. I hope you enjoy your new home!" The DAHL soldiers that had been guarding them uncuffed the group. They stood up and looked around their ruined city, how had it fallen so quickly?"

"I've done what the great Handsome Jack couldn't do, take over Pandora! Look around you vault hunters, I have shattered your society and I didn't even need the warrior!" Dahl declared triumphantly. She then turned to the Raiders, who were no longer restrained, and saw they all had their guns pointed toward her. "Bad idea freeing us puta," growled Salvador, "Now I'm going to kill you, eat you, and use your bones as a tooth pick!"

Katelyn didn't even seem fazed by the threat. She just yawned and said, "I should probably let you know that I've rigged this whole place to blow, and if you try anything I'll turn this place into a smoldering floating rock." This shut them up. Lilith wasn't even listening though; she had given up. Dahl had won; there was nothing else to do. She had nothing more to fight for; Roland was gone for good. Lilith turned and trudged away from the group, who watched her in confusion as she left them. Katelyn nodded towards her, "You better follow your friend's lead if you know what's good for you!" The Crimson Raiders dispersed, downed and defeated.

Lilith decided to get a drink; she needed some time to gather herself. She walked into Moxxi's bar and sat down on a barstool. Moxxi approached her with a drink and handed it to her. "It's the strongest I got honey, I figured you could use it after all that had happened." Lilith smiled at her graciously and took a sip of the rakk ale. As she continued, she saw Mordecai sit beside her and order the same thing. Moxxi raised her eyebrow and handed him a drink. "I thought you'd be running off to the Holy Spirits Bar to meet with your sweet heart?" she asked as she started to clean one of her glasses. Mordecai took a large swig and answered, "No point in trying, I can't leave this place."

Lilith cringed at the thought. They had actually lost; there was no avoiding it. She had never tasted defeat this bitter, other then when Jack took Roland from her. Lilith took another drink and said, "I can't believe we failed. After all we've done and all we've been through, it was all just so we could get our asses handed to us by DAHL. On top of everything I've lost Roland and there's no getting him back."

"We'll think of something Lil. Zer0's still on the outside, remember?" Mordecai told her, trying to cheer her up. Lilith didn't know what happened to the assassin, but he had taken pretty heavy damage before he disappeared. She figured wherever he was, he was probably dying from his injuries. She looked around the bar and saw DAHL soldiers guarding each entrance, armed to the teeth. It was disgusting, letting these monsters and their corporate greed tread among them. Axton was right all along, DAHL was no better then Hyperion. _Axton, that's it! Maybe he can help us,_ she realized. Lilith left her payment on the bar table and left in a hurry.

She started racking her brain trying to figure out where she could find the commando if he wasn't drinking his brains out in a bar. Lilith asked around sanctuary, trying to find where Axton might be. No one knew; even Salvador, one of his best friends, didn't see where he had gone off to after the group dispersed. The siren started to worry; Axton was probably more destroyed inside then any of them. While she searched sanctuary frantically for him, she ran into Maya. "Have you seen Axton?" she asked Maya

"I was actually looking for him too. We… have a lot to talk about…" Maya answered sadly. The two decided to split up and search for him.

As she looked, Maya heard what sounded like Axton, crying? She surveyed the area, trying to see where the noise was coming from. Maya finally tracked down the sobbing; it was coming from behind a door she had never noticed before. _I really hope he's alright_, she thought as she opened the door slowly. When she entered, she saw Axton sitting at a table with a pistol in front of him, staring at it intensely. She realized what he was doing, and it almost brought her to tears. Maya closed the door behind her and walked over to talk to him. Right when she sat down, he said hostilely, "Is there something you want?"

"Please tell me you weren't thinking of doing what I thought you were,"

"If you're implying that I was considering honorably discharging myself, then yes," he responded bitterly. When Axton reached for the shot glass next to him, Maya swatted it out of his hand and yelled, "Stop this Axton! You're going to end up hurting yourself!"

"Look Maya, I don't know if you've noticed but we've lost. It's over. That's it, Dahl and Copper have won; Pandora is theirs!" he yelled back

Maya slapped him and said tearfully, "Stop that! I know you, and you never give up! When everything seemed against us, when we were always against the odds, you always stood against Jack and his army with your head held high! Why stop now, when we are so close to achieving peace?"

"Honestly, there's nothing left to save here. I've lost everything that I held dear, it's not worth the fight," Axton grumbled as he grabbed another glass and poured himself something more to drink.

"You haven't lost everything! You still have your friends, your city… you still have me."

Axton turned and looked at her with his bloodshot eyes, "No, I don't. I lost you to Copper, I wasn't able to protect you; just like Sarah. You're gone."

"No, please Axton, try to understand! When I met Copper in the tundra express, I never knew what he had done to you! Please, forgive me… I don't know if I can live through this without you," Maya cried, trying to regain the commando's love. Axton just stood up and started to walk out. He turned back towards her just before he left and said, "All this time, I thought you were playing hard to get. But as it turns out, you dumped me for that bastard! Now I know how Mordecai feels…" The commando walked out, leaving Maya crying at the table.

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Lilith saw Axton storming out one of the small huts that lined sanctuary, seething with anger. She decided to let him cool down before they talked, but felt better knowing that he was all right. As it started to get dark, Lilith walked back towards her new containment home. As she walked, she saw DAHL soldiers standing on the roofs makings sure everyone was going inside before curfew. She knew that she had to come up with some sort of plan, but what? The Raiders had all given up, including her, and probably weren't willing to fight. It would take a miracle to inspire their downtrodden army. She needed some advice, some sort of guidance.

Before Lilith went home, she took a small detour to the city graveyard. Lilith walked over to her dead lover's grave, as she had not paid it a visit in a while. It was almost completely dark outside, only the small lights from different shops lit up the night around her. She bent down in front of Roland's grave and placed a flower on it, as she did every time she visited him. "Hey Roland, I'm sorry it's been a while," Lilith said, trying to force a smile, "I'm sorry I haven't visited, I was trying to work on a way to bring you back. You know what I'm talking about right, the New U stations you suggested." Lilith paused for a bit, almost like she was waiting for a response. After her pause, she continued her conversation tearfully, "I'm sorry, I've failed you again. I couldn't lead the Raiders, and now we're all under the foot of the DAHL Corporation. You would have known what to do; you always knew what to do. Why did you leave me? I can't do this on my own! You trusted me with your legacy and I've let it down! I don't know if I'm even worthy to stand here before your grave…" As she wept, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw a hooded figure standing beside her.

"Why are you crying?" the man asked Lilith as he helped her off the ground.

"Oh," Lilith laughed shakily, trying to hide her tears, "I'm just visiting a friend."

The figure looked around and said, "I don't see anyone. Are you sure your friend is still here?"

Lilith sniffled, "Yeah, he's here. He's right in that grave and it's all my fault. I wasn't able to save his life and now I've failed all that he's left behind. We couldn't win, and now the people of sanctuary, like yourself, are suffering for it." She started to cry again as the stranger stood by her. Once she finished crying, the man spoke up.

"I don't think he's still here, and I don't think he would have wanted you to give up like this. I think your friend would have faith in you to fight until the very end and protect Pandora. You have done great things, and you will get past this. He would say that because he knew you. He knew that you never gave up, and always kept trying to fight for what's right. Wherever he is, you haven't failed him. You've only made him proud." Something about the stranger's words soothed Lilith's tortured soul. She felt his hand leave her shoulder, and turned to see where he was going. As he walked out of the graveyard, she called to him. "Who are you? I've never seen you around here before."

The stranger turned to her and answered, "a friend." Before she could respond, he disappeared into the shadows, leaving her alone with Roland's grave. She felt something in her pocket, and reached in to see what it was. Lilith pulled out a small metal pin. It was a Crimson Raiders emblem, only given to commanding officers in their ranks. She placed the pin in her pocket and walked back to her temporary home, filled with new hope. She was going to free her city, and Katelyn Dahl would fall.

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Zer0 shot up, finally awake from his slumber. He looked around and noticed that the top part of his stealth suit was missing, and so was his helmet. He looked at his bare torso and saw the burn marks from the lightning, along with his numerous scars and cybernetic attachments. The room he was in was a small shack; it had a curtain for a door and one other small bed. His head hurt terribly from the damage he had sustained at Angel's chambers, but what hurt was that it was all for nothing. The New U hadn't worked, the Raiders had fallen, and for once, he had failed his mission. That bitch Dahl was now on his hit list, Zer0 was determined to bring her down or die trying. Just like Jack had fallen, so would she, no matter what.

"You're awake," said a sweet and soothing voice that sent a calming wave through his body. Zer0 turned to see who had addressed him, but couldn't believe what he saw. Sitting by him was Angel, living and breathing. The black haired siren smiled at him and held her hand over his torso. Her hands started to glow white, causing a blue light to glow through his body, running through all his robotic parts. Instantly, he felt relieved, the pain he once felt left his body. He looked back to Angel and stared at her, trying to figure out if this was reality or just a dream. "Don't worry, you aren't dreaming Zer0," she laughed; he had forgotten she could read his mind.

"How, how are you alive? I saw you die with my own eyes, the New U didn't work either."

Angel looked out the window of the shack, staring into the beautiful sky, and sighed, "After you killed the warrior and… my father, Lilith touched the vault key. This sent out a pulse, which reacted with what little power remained in my body. The pulse pushed me into the system that oversaw my chambers. This allowed me to act as the AI that controlled everything in the facility, keeping my conscious mind alive."

"But, why did you never contact us. Angel I was nothing without you!" Zer0 said in disbelief that she had not contacted him this whole time.

Angel's smile faded as she lowered her head. "Zer0, I betrayed you and everyone else twice. I thought it best if all of you just forget about me. But when you all came trying to reactivate the New U system, I knew I couldn't let you. When I saw you, you were with Katelyn Dahl. I knew she was going to stab you all in the back. I did everything I could to keep you away, but you still came. Zer0, I'm sorry about what happened to the raiders. I was only able to take my body back once Lilith had fused her power with the New U system. The surge allowed me to come back, but I was only strong enough to save you…"

Zer0 sat up and put his hand on her cheek, turning her face towards him. He looked her in her beautiful sky blue eyes and said, "Angel, I won't let any harm come to you anymore. No one will use you or betray you; I will be there always. I forgive you for your mistakes; I've made them too. Just promise me that you'll stay by me." Angel nodded and leaned forward towards him. Zer0 leaned in as well, until the two's lips met in the middle. They embraced each other, unwilling to let go this time. No genie could make them release each other ever again. Angel parted from him and smiled, happy that she had gotten another second chance.

Zer0 tried to get off the bed, but was having difficulty. Angel rushed over and helped him up and over towards his stealth suit and helmet. He pulled the top part of his suit over his body, and then attached his helmet. The visor display activated and he looked around, trying to see if his equipment was damaged. For some reason he felt lighter though, something was missing. He checked his belt and saw that his katana was missing. Zer0 checked himself frantically, trying to find his prized possession. Angel tapped him on the shoulder and held out the hilt of the sword to him. When he took the sword from her hands, it immediately activated, revealing the electric blue blade. Zer0 swung it around to make sure it was undamaged, then sheathed it where it belonged. Angel wrapped her arm around his and put her chin on his shoulder. He looked to her lovingly and stroked her hair, which had now managed to grow back.

The two walked outside and looked up in the sky where sanctuary usually was. Angel gasped when she and Zer0 saw what took its place. In the sky was a huge, floating green orb with the DAHL symbol written on it. Zer0 figured the DAHL Corporation had encased their once great city in that sphere to contain it. He looked to Angel and saw her tearing up at the sight, so he covered her eyes. Once again, he swore DAHL would fall just as Hyperion had before, but this time for a reason other then revenge. This was for Angel.

**A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember to leave a review and if you really liked it, a favorite!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hope you all enjoy the seventh chapter to my story, remember to leave a review if you can!**

** Reddy brek: Those three will most likely doing something hilariously awesome, don't worry.**

** TechMonke: No problem, I will continue to work on the grammar and writing. I appreciate your honest feedback!**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: Yeah, those two will raise hell. Sorry I went off on a bit of a rant last time, but the message was important!**

** BubbyGum24: Yeah, Copper is a bit of an ass hole. He'll get his though!**

Chapter Seven: Beginning

Angel and Zer0 looked to the giant sphere that surrounded the once great city of sanctuary. Zer0 knew they had to find away to break the case wide open, to free sanctuary from DAHL occupation. He racked his brain trying to think of how to infiltrate it; everything had a weakness. Maybe he could just fly up there with a buzzard, take the direct approach. "That won't work," said Angel, reading Zer0's mind, "You would be shot down before you could even get close to the thing."

"How do I enter, if not by air then by what, any suggestions?" asked Zer0

Angel thought for a second, and then spoke up, "When I worked for Hyperion, I learned everything I could about its competing companies. I remember learning that the DAHL Corporation had four major board members along with the company president. If I had to guess, they are probably spread across this planet to assure a secure grip on it. Maybe one of them has a key that can get us into the sphere." Zer0 nodded, if finding these men was what would get them into sanctuary, then that's what he would do.

He walked back into their shack and grabbed his gear and prepared for the journey ahead. When he got back outside he saw Angel focusing with her siren wings extended. Suddenly, a light runner started to digi-struct in front of him in a white light. Once the car finished constructing, Angel's wings faded and she bent over, breathing heavily. "This kind of stuff used to be easier, I guess without all that eridium my powers died down a lot," Angel panted as she walked over to join Zer0 in the vehicle. Zer0 displayed a heart symbol in front of his helmet as he gave her his hand and pulled her up into the gunner seat. Angel called over to him, "before we do anything, we have to find a new place to stay, the shack doesn't have enough supplies to sustain us. Do you have any ideas?"

Zer0 tried to think of friends he had outside of sanctuary. After three minutes of hard thought he realized something, he needed to expand his friend circle. Zer0 suddenly remembered someone he had helped on his way to end Jack's tyranny. "I do know someone, she may be willing to help, if she remembers," he told Angel as he started up the engine. They drove off towards their destination, Overlook.

After a couple hours, the two finally reached the Overlook gates. One of the guards approached the car cautiously and yelled, "state your buis…" The guard stopped once he saw Zer0 and his frown was immediately replaced with a wide grin. "Hey Karima, it's one of them, one of the four that killed Dave!" A woman with short brown hair immediately came running through the gates. Once she reached the two, she shook Zer0's hand excitedly. "Oh welcome back friend! As you can see, our town is recovering from the damage he did, but we're rebuilding."

"By he, do you mean Handsome Jack?" asked Angel; trying to remember what unique and horrible thing Jack had done to this town.

Karima looked at her like she was crazy and said, "What? Jack is dead? Wow, that's great, but he wasn't who I was talking about. I was talking about that asshole Dave. He was a real dick."

Angel looked over to Zer0 in confusion. Zer0 explained to her, "this statement is true, Dave was a total ass hole, he was a real jerk." Angel figured she was never going to be let on to that joke, so she dropped it. She turned back towards Karima and asked, "Zer0 said you would be willing to let us stay in your town for a while. Do you mind?"

Karima nodded her head, "We don't have any room in town, but you two can probably find a room in the Holy Spirits Bar." She pointed towards a small pub right outside of Overlook. Angel pulled Zer0, who for some reason was refusing to go near the pub, toward the bar so they could find a place to stay. Before they were able to enter, Zer0 stabbed his sword into the ground and held onto the handle for dear life. Angel pulled on him and grunted, "Why are you being so difficult?"

"I'm not allowed back, pretty sure I can't go in, they do not like me," he said as he continued to hold fast.

"Why, because you're an assassin? Whatever you did in there it can't be that bad."

"No its worse then that, I shot up a funeral, I'm not proud of it…"

Angel stared at him in shock. "You shot up a funeral? Zer0, that's terrible!"

"It was not just me, Axton and Salvador too, Maya did as well," Zer0 said, trying to defend himself.

Angel smiled at him sweetly and insisted, "C'mon, lets just go. Maybe they won't remember you." At the sight of her smile, Zer0's will instantly broke. He begrudgingly let go of his sword and followed her into the bar, even though he knew it was against his better judgment.

They opened the door and Zer0 was surprised with what he saw. Instead of a bunch of strange men dressed in green, it seemed like regular people from Overlook were hanging out there. He followed Angel as they walked up to the bartender and was even more surprised by who he saw behind the table. "Rita is that you, when did you move locations, is Mordecai here," Zer0 asked the woman. Rita turned around and dropped her glass when she saw the assassin.

"I remember you! You were the one who was sent to assassinate me," she said angrily as she pointed accusingly at him. An exclamation mark appeared over Zer0's head as he started shaking his head, trying to motion her to stop. "What did he do?" asked Angel curiously, as she had missed the last part. Zer0 kept shaking his head even more vigorously, hoping Rita wouldn't continue. Rita saw him and raised her eyebrow, then realized what was going on.

"What, you don't want me to say that you almost killed in front of your girlfriend?"

Angel looked at Zer0 disappointedly, "Zer0, you didn't!"

Zer0 sighed; he really didn't want Angel to know the ins and outs of his job. "I'm sorry Angel, but I am an assassin, killing is my job."

Angel sighed and turned to Rita. "I don't suppose you'd let us stay here for a while?"

Rita glared at Zer0, but then turned to Angel and saw her pleading face. "Fine, you seem like a good kid. But tell your boyfriend that if he kills any of my costumers, you're both outta here." Angel thanked Rita and pulled Zer0 to their room. She was going to have a talk with him.

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Mordecai was walking to Moxxi's bar to get a drink. Ever since they were trapped on sanctuary, he and the rest of the city had been drinking themselves sick. Bloodwing Jr sat on his shoulder and picked at its beak, the bird was now fully-grown and just as strong as its mother. Mordecai smiled and helped it get the piece of meat out of its mouth, then flicked it away. "At least a got you girl," he said as he scratched Bloodwing Jr on the head. As he continued to walk he heard a woman's scream. After hearing the scream again, he immediately recognized who it was, Moxxi. He ran towards the direction of the noise and saw two DAHL soldiers pushing Moxxi out the doors of her own bar. "You can't do this, it's unfair!" she yelled at the two.

"What's going on here?" Mordecai asked Moxxi

Moxxi smiled when she saw him and pleaded to him, "These jerk offs are taking my bar! Mordecai I know we haven't seen eye to eye lately, but this is all I've got left!" Mordecai sighed, even though he was mad at her, he couldn't watch as a fellow citizen of sanctuary was abused by DAHL. He walked over towards the two soldiers and said, "I noticed you kicked my friend out of her own bar and I'd like to ask you to reconsider. See this place is all she has after Jack burned down the underdome. Would you please just let us in?" The two soldiers looked at each other, and then started laughing.

"This here is the new DAHL bar for off duty soldiers! There's no way in hell we're giving it up!"

Mordecai growled, "Don't say I didn't warn you…" Bloodwing Jr burst into action right as he finished his sentence, swooping down to maul the terrified soldiers. The bird dug its claws into one of the soldier's face and then used its beak to tear at the other one's neck. The two screamed as the bird continued to rip them apart in the most nauseatingly brutal way possible. Once Blood had finished ripping up the two, it flew back onto Mordecai's shoulder and continued to pick the meat out of its beak. Mordecai laughed then turned to Moxxi. "Looks like you've got your bar back." Moxxi smiled and walked towards him seductively. Before he knew what was happening, Moxxi pulled him into an intense kiss. Mordecai knew he shouldn't be enjoying this, but damn she was good. Moxxi pulled back and gave him a wink, "Thanks for the help hon. For you, drinks are on me."

She walked back into her bar and stepped behind the counter. All the DAHL soldiers in the bar left slowly after seeing what had happened to the last two that had tried to kick her out. Mordecai followed her and sat down at the counter. Moxxi slid some rakk ale over to him and he proceeded to continue his daily routine. As he drank, Moxxi walked over to him and leaned over the bar in her usual fashion. "So, have you heard about what's been happening at night lately?" she asked him

Mordecai tried to take his eyes off the heart tattoo on her breast and said, "Uhhh, no. What's been going on?"

"Apparently there's a hooded man running around dispatching DAHL soldiers and sabotaging their grip on the city."

"Huh, no way," laughed Mordecai, "I hope that guy gives them a run for their money."

"I heard he's not even human, but an eridian warrior," said someone behind him. Mordecai turned and saw Lilith walking over towards them. She sat down next to him and ordered a drink, then continued, "but I don't think that's true."

"Oh, and how would you know?" asked Moxxi

Lilith smiled and said, "Because I've met him."

"Cool, what was he like?" Mordecai questioned as he handed a shot to Bloodwing Jr

Lilith thought back to the night where a stranger had approached her in the graveyard. She pulled out the crimson raider pin that he gave her and put it on the table. "He gave me this and told me to not give up the fight. Obviously he likes to lead by example."

Mordecai looked at the pin; for some reason he recognized it, he was sure he had seen that pin before. As he examined the emblem, Katelyn Dahl's voice spoke over the loudspeakers in sanctuary. "Hello people of sanctuary, I have a proposition for you. Outside this city, an assassin still runs loose, uncontained and fighting against us. You may think this would be to your advantage, but believe me; it's not. Now I have a generous offer for all those who are willing to take it. I will let you leave sanctuary, depending on who you are of course, and go search for this man. If you find him, you earn your freedom and a ticket off this planet. All those willing to hunt will meet Lt. Copper at the local fast travel station. Any attempt to riot will be met with extreme retaliation. Good day."

"Wait, Zer0's actually alive? That could mean… do you think Angel is back?" Lilith wondered out loud.

Mordecai tried to think back on that moment. White siren wings, Zer0 digi-structing away, the blinding lights; the signs did seem to point towards that conclusion. If Angel was alive, then she and Zer0 may be able to help them free sanctuary! The situation started to look more hopeful by the second. If only he could meet this hero that had been fighting back against DAHL, then he could join up with the resistance. Mordecai looked out the window and saw it was getting pretty dark. With the mysterious warrior in mind, Mordecai decided to turn it in for the night. "I'm gonna head home, see you two later," he said as he got up from his stool and started heading towards the door. "Be safe hon," Moxxi called over to him as he walked out. Mordecai smiled and waved back to her, she responded by blowing him a kiss. He couldn't believe it, but he was starting to fall for her again.

As he walked back, he heard footsteps in the shadows. Mordecai looked around, but saw nothing. He continued to walk towards his home when he heard more footsteps; there was definitely something there. The footsteps got louder and closer, Mordecai continued to act like he suspected nothing. "You know you really shouldn't sneak up on a hunter," he said, as if it was to no one. He spun around and threw a punch, which landed right on the left cheek of a DAHL arrest soldier. Suddenly, he felt cold metal grab his hands. He turned and saw a DAHL cyborg grabbing his arm and placeing cuffs around him. The soldier he had just punched stood up angrily and stormed over to him. "You're under arrest for the murder of two DAHL officials!"

Mordecai spat in his face and said, "Way I see it, I'm already in prison." The soldier wiped off the spit and raised his hand to hit the sniper, but something grabbed it. He turned and saw a shadowy figure restraining him. "Let go before you end up like him," the soldier snarled as he struggled to escape the stranger's grip. The man elbowed the DAHL soldier in the side of his face, then grabbed him by the neck and threw him into the trash. The cyborg raised its gun, but the hooded man was too fast. The stranger grabbed its arm and head butted it in the forehead, knocking it out instantly. The two sent to arrest Mordecai lay on the ground, defeated. Mordecai turned to the hooded man and said, "Thanks man, I thought I was a goner."

"DAHL will be looking for you, go into hiding so they can't get a hold of you," the man suggested

"Hate to say it, but I don't have anywhere to go. I can't leave sanctuary, and I'm pretty sure Katelyn Dahl knows where every hiding spot is."

The stranger waved for him and said, "Follow me, I know a spot where she will never find you." With no better plan, Mordecai followed the stranger into the shadows, hoping that this man could be trusted.

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"Zer0, why did you try and kill her?" Angel asked, as she looked Zer0 straight in the eyes. Zer0 tried to look away, any longer looking into her eyes and he would be lost.

"I did not try to, I didn't get the chance to, Mordecai stopped me," Zer0 said, trying not to disappoint Angel and keep his reputation of efficiency. Angel crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Zer0, I know you're better then a cold hearted killer. You aren't just some mercenary that will kill an innocent citizen for money."

Zer0 sighed; he hated it when she did this. Even after all she had done, she was morally superior then him and he knew it. Angel wouldn't even cuss, except for extreme cases. "Angel I'm sorry, it was a dark time for me, I know it was wrong…"

Angel took his hand and said, "Promise me something. Promise me that you will only kill those who must be brought to justice, not those who have done nothing wrong. Please, for me." Zer0 nodded his head and lay down on his bed. Angel walked over to hers and lay down as well. Zer0 looked over to her as she started to fall asleep, she looked so peaceful. He would not let her go this time; he would protect her until his last breath.

The next morning the Zer0 woke up and went down to the bar to get something to eat before heading out. Angel said there was a DAHL outpost somewhere nearby the Hyperion ruins, so the two decided they were going to start looking there. When he got downstairs, he saw Angel sitting at the bar talking to Rita. She smiled at Zer0 as he sat down next to her and ordered a drink. Rita bent down and grabbed a bottle of rakk ale from behind the counter. While she was down there, she called up to Angel, "You some rakk ale too?"

Angel shook her head and said, "I don't drink. I'll just have some water or something." Rita looked at her like she was crazy, then laughed.

"You may be the only person I've met on this planet that doesn't drink."

"Well I don't like what it does to you. My dad always taught me that drinking is not the best choice, so I guess his teachings kinda stuck with me," Angel said with a faint smile."

"Your dad sounds like a good man," Rita complimented, not knowing who she was talking about.

Angel's smile faded, "Unfortunately my dad died many years ago…" Zer0 knew exactly what she meant, apparently before Hyperion; Jack had been a pretty nice guy. Angel told him back when they were in prison about how he used to be before her mother disappeared. Jack and Angel's history was possibly one of the most depressing stories he'd ever heard. "Rita, do you know of a DAHL outpost nearby?" Zer0 heard Angel ask.

Rita thought for a bit, then answered, "I think they moved in where Hyperion used to be. You can probably find it if you just follow the road."

"Thank you so much. If you don't mind, we'd like to stay here for a while. Zer0 and I don't really have anywhere to go," Angel said as the two walked towards the door. Rita smiled and nodded, then continued to clean the bar table up. Next stop, the DAHL facility.

**A/N: Thanks for reading remember to leave a review or a favorite if you really liked it!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey everybody, I hope you all enjoy my eighth chapter! Remember to leave a review if you can.**

** Master Drummer: I'm glad you like it that much, and I hope you continue to enjoy it!**

** Blu: I don't want to give away anything, but *********.**

Chapter Eight: Four

The man who worked at the DAHL outpost front desk sat back with his feet up on the table. He was told that exciting adventures awaited him when he joined the DAHL army, not boring desk jobs. As the radio played popular music, such as Steve's famous song, Heyooo, as he bobbed his head to the chorus. Right as the song started to break down, there was a knock at the door. He got up and walked over to open it, hoping it was the pizza he ordered an hour ago. As he opened the door, he saw a beautiful woman with black hair and blue tattoos walk in. The employee stared at her as she sat down in the waiting room; damn she was fine. "Umm, is there something I can help you with mam?" he asked nervously, hoping for a shot with her.

"I'm just here to speak with you boss, do you mind directing me towards his room?" she asked with a genuine smile.

"Take the elevator to the top floor, it'll be the first door to your right miss…"

"Ms. Steele," the woman finished.

"Miss Steele, first door to your right," the man answered. Ms. Steele nodded her head in thanks and headed towards the elevator. He stared at her ass until the elevator doors closed behind her.

Angel watched as the doors closed and checked the elevator for cameras. Once she had confirmed that it was all clear, she said, "It's safe to come out for now." Zer0 shimmered into appearance beside her. "What are we doing, I could kill every one here, why the alibi?"

"Well I want to try to kill as little innocent people as possible. Not everyone in these corporations are black hearted monsters, some are just workers doing their job. Zer0 didn't seem to understand the concept, so Angel just dropped it. She watched the floor numbers as they got closer to the top, and signaled Zer0 to disappear. The assassin vanished and she walked out of the elevator and into the first door to her right. When she walked in, she saw a stout man on the phone. "Yes honey, I'll be there tonight I…" he stopped when he noticed Angel and said into the phone, "I'll call you back honey." Angel smiled and sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "So good looking, what's a pretty girl like you doing on a planet like this?" he asked with a cocky smile.

"I'm Ms. Steele, and I was looking for some information about your operation, Mr… Jones" Angel answered as she looked at his name tag.

The Jones' smile faded and he said, "and what gives you the right to go snooping around in company business?"

"What gives me the right is that your corporation has a whole city caged in the sky like a prison. How do you all even get on the thing to fix it," Angel pressed on.

"Look Ms. Steele, I wouldn't keep asking these questions. Someone could get hurt," he threatened. Angel discreetly used her phase shift and saw he was reaching for a gun that was in one of his desk compartments. "I would answer my questions, or else you'll have to speak with my friend. Unfortunately, he's not as amiable as me so please cooperate," Angel asked nicely, genuinely not wanting Zer0 to have to deal with this. Jones just laughed and pulled out his gun.

"Where's your friend now? I don't see anyone arou…" Zer0 lunged out of the shadows and tackled him, knocking him to the ground. The gun slid out of Jones' hands as Zer0 picked him up by his ankle and dragged him towards the window. He shattered the window and held Mr. Jones over the side. "It's a long drop Jones, I suggest you tell us now, how do you enter?"

Mr. Jones screamed as he flailed his arms around helplessly, "The four board members of the DAHL Corporation! They're all on this planet! Each of them has a key card that will unlock an essential door, get all those key cards and you can transport yourself onto the encasement!"

"Thank you my good sir, you've been so helpful to us, we will now leave you," Zer0 said, still holding Jones out the window.

"So, you'll let me go?" Jones wailed as he continued to dangle. A smile appeared over Zer0's helmet and Jones sighed in relief. Zer0 then let go of his foot, causing the man to fall and die on impact with a sickening crack. Angel cringed when she heard the noise, while Zer0 seemed totally unaffected. The two made their hasty retreat before the troops could regroup and catch them; it was a perfect getaway.

Zer0 drove Angel to a hiding spot under a large Hyperion bridge, where the two hid out from the DAHL patrols. As they hid, they started to formulate a plan. "I know where one of the board members may be," said Angel as she tried to catch her breath.

"How do you know him, was he friends with Handsome Jack, or was he a foe?" Zer0 asked as he began loading his sniper rifle.

"He was a friend of his," Angel answered, "and I would prefer if you wouldn't bring up Jack, I really don't like to think about him." Zer0 nodded in understanding and she continued. "As I was saying, the man's name is Scott Henderson. He's a real pig; spends most of his time and money in brothels. If he's on this planet, he's probably at some really fancy strip club right now. So if we can find him, we can take the key. There's just one problem…" Zer0 tilted his head curiously as a red question mark popped up over his head. "He has always been overly cautious with guards. If he's somewhere, so is pretty much half of the DAHL armed forces. Henderson's guard will be too much for even you to handle, so we have to find a way to isolate him." Zer0 thought for a bit on where he might be and how he could lure Scott out into the open. Suddenly, he had an idea. "I know a brothel, it's the biggest place around, he's probably there."

Angel nodded and said, "What's it called?"

"The name's Gomorrah, it's in the three horns valley, guys like to go there," Zer0 answered.

Angel didn't know such a place existed, but she decided it was their best shot. "There's one other problem, we have to separate him. How are we supposed to do that?" A smiley face appeared over Zer0's head as he stared directly at Angel. "What?" she asked, confused by what he meant.

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"Lilith, where is he? I haven't seen him in days," cried Moxxi as she sat on Salvador's couch. The two had decided to take refuge there since he was never home and it seemed like most DAHL patrol officers stayed away from it. Lilith looked to her in shock; she had never seen Moxxi in ruins like this over one guy. The woman was a notorious heartbreaker, not a touchy feely kind of gal. "I don't know Moxxi, but if DAHL had gotten him, we would have known," she said, trying to be reassuring.

Lilith sat next to Moxxi, trying to make her feel better, when Salvador swung open the door and walked in along with Gaige and Axton. Salvador looked at the two and asked, "Uhhh, what are you two doing?"

Lilith looked over to them and said, "Now's not really the time." She motioned for them to leave, which Gaige quickly backed up. The teen turned to the two guys and said, "Yeah you two, move it! This is girl time!" She proceeded to shove Axton and Salvador out and slammed the door behind them. As Gaige walked back, the three girls heard Salvador yell, "Alright, but clap trap paid me to ask you if he could come and watch if you're experimenting! And also don't touch the hand in the fridge, it's mine!"

"What happened," Gaige asked as she joined Moxxi and Lilith on the couch.

"Mordecai's been missing for days now; we don't know what to think of it," explained Lilith as she rubbed Moxxi's shoulder reassuringly.

"Where could that bastard be? If he's dead, I'm gonna kill him!" Moxxi yelled as she stomped her foot on the ground. Lilith felt bad for Moxxi, she knew what it was like to lose someone that close. Gaige smiled and said, "I'm sure he's fine. Mordecai's been through tougher times, and he's got Bloodwing Jr with him right?" Moxxi sniffled and nodded, trying to get a grip of her once confident self.

As Lilith and Gaige continued to comfort Moxxi, they heard a knock at the door. "I told you guys not now!" yelled Lilith, trying to get Salvador, Axton, and probably now clap trap to back off. The door suddenly flew open and a swarm of DAHL soldiers ran in, followed soon by Lt. Copper. The three girls held their hands up and glared at Copper as he strolled casually in the room. "Nice place you got here, to bad you won't be living in it any longer."

"What do you want Copper, we've been abiding by your rules!" snarled Lilith

Copper shook his head and laughed, "Tsk, tsk Lilith. One of your associates is responsible for the murder of two DAHL soldiers, but since we can't find him, we'll hang all of you to feel a little better about the situation." The soldiers handcuffed the three girls and pulled them out of the building violently, making sure they were roughed up before their execution.

The soldiers dragged the three over towards the gallows that stood in the middle of town. On the stand already, Lilith saw Axton, Maya, Salvador, and Brick. Copper commanded for them to be tied up and placed beside each other. The DAHL soldiers obeyed and tied their hands behind their back and put a noose around each of the Raider's necks. "Well I guess this is it," Maya said solemnly, trying to hold back tears.

Brick sniffled, "We had a good run slabs. I'm honored to call you all friends."

Salvador yelled to the air, "FREEDOM!"

Everyone turned to him in confusion. "Dude, what was with the outburst," Gaige asked, trying to keep herself from thinking of her poor dad, who would be devastated by the news.

Salvador shrugged, "I don't know amiga, I saw it in a movie. Well it was nice knowing you all, see you in Hell."

Axton looked over to Copper, who was smiling victoriously. He couldn't stand it. "Copper," he screamed, "I won't die by your hands! Not now, not ever!"

Copper laughed, "Of course no, you'll die by his hands!" He pointed over towards the executor, who stood ready by the lever. Copper nodded to him, signaling for him to finish them. Lilith closed her eyes and readied herself for her demise. _I'm coming Roland_. Suddenly, she heard a shot and the scream of he crowd. Lilith opened her eyes and saw the executioner on the ground with a sizable hole in his head. She turned towards the roof and saw Mordecai standing there with his sniper rifle. "Nobody messes with my girlfriend," he growled.

DAHL troopers started to drop like flies, they were being sniped right and left. As Mordecai unloaded on the panicking crowd, a hooded figure jumped from another roof onto the gallows. He pulled out a large bowie knife and cut free each of the raiders, then tossed them a gun. Axton smiled and immediately jumped into the crowd, beating up any DAHL official in sight. He was soon joined by Salvador, who was breaking limbs left and right; screaming, "I AM INVINCIBLE!" Lilith aimed the pistol and shot down three DAHL soldiers, who were trying to contain her. As Axton fought, he heard Maya scream, "Axton, look out!" The commando turned and saw Copper jumping at him wielding a knife. Suddenly a blue vortex incased the lieutenant and smashed him against the side of a building.

The fighting continued until more heavily armed DAHL troops started to surround them. As the Raiders started to back towards each other, the hooded man pulled out what looked like a bomb. Before Lilith could stop him, he threw it on the ground below them. A burst of smoke puffed out and covered the area, causing the soldiers to lose their focus and start coughing violently. Lilith was mostly unaffected by the smoke, but her eyes still started to burn from it. A hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her downwards, causing her to fall down a hole she had not previously noticed.

As she stood up after the slightly painful fall, she looked around. Lilith saw what looked like an underground bunker, fully equipped with weapons, food, and water. She heard a scream and turned to see Moxxi hugging Mordecai as he blushed and laughed with glee. "Glad to see you're alright Mord," Lilith said as she walked over towards the sniper.

"Okay, I'm better then okay!" Mordecai responded excitedly

Lilith raised her eyebrow and said, "slow down, we're still trapped on sanctuary and DAHL still controls the planet. We can't be that happy yet." A Mordecai grinned happily, as if he couldn't contain his joy. "Lil, you're gonna want to see this."

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Angel looked at the disguise Zer0 had given her and said, "No, I'm not wearing this."

"What is wrong Angel, you want to catch this guy right, you have to do this," Zer0 told her, trying to get her to just go with the plan.

"I look like a… a… a woman with very loose morals!" she exclaimed, pointing to herself. It was true; she had only a bra, a pair of panties, and a pair of sexy stockings on. "There has got to be another way to do this Zer0. I am no stripper!"

"Whose the assassin, I know how to do my job, just trust me Angel," Zer0 pleaded.

"Fine," Angel sighed, deciding that Zer0 probably did have more experience than her. She jumped out of the car and walked into the back of Gomorrah; she was still upset with the idea. Angel opened the door and saw a bunch of hookers and strippers all putting make up on, getting ready to earn their living. This was immoral, but then again everything on this planet was immoral. A large man with a bandit mask walked over to Angel and said, "Hey, I don't remember ever seeing you around here!"

Angel bit her lip and lied, "Oh, I'm new here. I came from the highlands to work here. I here you pay your girls handsomely."

The man laughed, "Well you heard wrong. Get out there and make me some money!" He pushed her out the door with a tray of drinks and told her to go and sell something. Angel looked around and saw half of Pandora's men population getting lap dances to the pounding music. _Alright, just gotta find the guy throwing around a bunch of cash_, she thought as she navigated through the whorehouse. As she looked around, she saw an unusual amount of girls surrounding one man who was practically making it rain. Angel decided that it was probably him, seeing as there were tons of seemingly off duty soldiers around him. She had to separate him somehow. Zer0's suggestion played back in her mind, but she really didn't want to go through with it. Although as she observed the situation, she realized Zer0 was right, there was no other way. With a grudging sigh, she walked over towards Scott, ready to seduce Jack's old buddy.

Angel tried to remember what Moxxi did to attract so many men; keeping her voice at a certain pitch, leaning over as much as possible, and showing how flexible she could be. She approached the man and got to work. "Hey big boy," she said in a voice that made her stomach churn. Scott turned to her and immediately noticed her, well, angelic body. "I saw how much money you were throwing around there. You've been very generous to the girls and I and I would like to give you a little, mmm, reward…"

"Well, you cut to the chase eh little lady? Well I'm not one to disappoint," Scott responded with a lustful smile. Angel smiled back at him and beckoned him with the movement of her finger. He followed her unquestioningly into a place called "The love room." She opened the door and walked inside, soon accompanied by Scott. He sat down on the couch and started to undo his tie. "Ready to earn your check?" Angel smiled back at him as she closed the door and locked it quietly.

"Not exactly…" Scott looked at her in confusion; then he heard someone whisper in his ear.

"Hi Scott Henderson, are you enjoying yourself, I really hope so" Scott saw as a glowing blue blade appeared next to his neck, and turned his head to witness Zer0 standing behind him threateningly. The assassin pressed his blade against his neck and continued, "Unfortunately, you have something that we need, give us the key card,"

"You bastards won't stop Katelyn, you can't stop this corporation," he hissed, unwilling to sell out his company.

Zer0 shook his head, "You impress me, I thought you'd be a coward, but I have short time,"

Scott shook his head and snarled, "I know who you are and what you do. You're Zer0, the cold-hearted political assassin, one of the murderers of Handsome Jack. Why don't you just kill me and get it over with, I'm not telling you where the others are."

"I promised Angel, said I would give you one chance, don't make me break it," Zer0 threatened.

"You'll get nothing out of me," Scott spat, readying himself for death. Zer0 had had enough of this, and was ready to do things his way. He cut off Scott's head with his katana and let it roll over towards the corner. Angel looked away from the scene as Zer0 bent over and took the key card from Scott's suit. "We have what we need, let's get out of here right now, we don't have much time," he said as he tossed the card over to Angel. She pocketed it and ran out the door, with Zer0 following close behind. The two sprinted out the doors and jumped in the car as they heard angry yells from the DAHL soldiers. They sped off with the key before the soldiers could get to their vehicles, which Zer0 had sabotaged anyways.

The two walked back into Rita's bar, ready to rest after a long day's work. Rita looked over at the two and was immediately curious. Angel was wearing some very out of character cloths and Zer0 seemed very out of breath. As the two walked by she called to them, "You two have fun out there?"

Angel turned in confusion, and then realized what she was talking about. "Oh it's not, we didn't, we weren't," she stammered, blushing madly.

Rita laughed and said, "It's alright, I know you're not that type. Or at least I thought I did." Zer0 and Angel rushed to their room and closed the door, trying to escape the bartender's ridicule. As they locked the door behind them, Angel demanded, "Alright, give me my cloths back." Zer0 just responded with a heart emote over his head. Angel gasped, "Zer0, you wouldn't!" Zer0 laughed in his metallic voice and the tossed Angel her black and yellow tight cloths. She grabbed them and put them on, grumbling about how mistreated everyone was at Gomorrah. After she finished putting on her cloths, Zer0's echo communicator went off. He clicked a button on his helmet and heard Lilith's voice over the echo, "Zer0, Zer0 are you there?"

"I am here and alive, how's sanctuary doing, is the group okay?" he asked her, trying to get some sort of idea of what was going on inside the sphere.

"We're doing fine, we may be out of Katelyn Dahl's grip, but the rest of sanctuary isn't. Look I can't talk for long, but I'll call you back once I have more information on the situation. Oh and one more thing, is Angel alive?"

Zer0 nodded to Angel, who spoke over the echo comm, "Hello Lilith."

"Holy shit, you're alive! But how?"

"I'll explain to you later, but right now I think there's someone you need to meet with," Angel answered

Lilith's confused voice responded, "Wait, how did you know… Whatever, just stay safe you two. Lilith out."

Zer0 looked over to Angel curiously, wondering how she new Lilith needed to meet someone. Angel smiled at him and said, "Don't worry about it. Right now, you're buying me dinner." She linked arms with Zer0 and walked out with him towards the bar below them.

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Lilith hung up her echo comm and turned towards Mordecai, "Did you know Angel is still alive?"

Mordecai smiled back, "I'm glad it worked out for Zer0, but right now we gotta go meet with the man who saved us all."

"Hold on, Mordecai. How do you know you can trust this guy? I mean yeah he saved us from DAHL, I mean do you know how many people have betrayed us so far!"

"Oh believe me, you can trust him. Just come with me," Mordecai laughed as he grabbed her by the wrist. He pulled her down the hallways of the bunker until they reached a large door, where she heard lots of cheering and laughter. _What is everyone doing in there,_ she wondered as Mordecai opened the door. Lilith saw the whole group; Maya, Axton, Brick, Gaige, Salvador, and Moxxi standing together. They seemed to be surrounding someone, why did Maya seem like she was crying tears of joy? "Hey everybody look!" yelled Gaige as she turned and saw Lilith walk in. Everyone turned to her and started grinning widely, Lilith was a bit creeped out. "What?" she asked in an annoyed tone of voice, trying to figure out why everyone was so damn happy. The group started to part, and what she saw in the middle made her heart skip a beat. She couldn't believe it; this could not be real. Standing right in front of her was the one she had been searching for all this time. It was Roland.

"Hey Lilith," he said sheepishly, trying to form words to tell his lover. Lilith stormed over to him, fire raging in her eyes. She was going to fucking kill him. Everyone stepped back, surprised by her aggressive reaction. When she reached Roland, she looked him straight in the eyes, burning with anger. Lilith slapped Roland as hard as she could, causing a huge red mark to appear on his cheek. "You were alive and in sanctuary this whole GOD DAMN TIME, AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!"

"I'm sorry Lilith, I was trying to protect you. If they knew I was involved with you and the rest at the time they would have, well, hung you!" Roland said, cowering in fear from the angry siren.

"I WORRIED DAY AND NIGHT, WONDERING IF YOU WERE ALIVE! YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST HINTED ME ON, MAYBE PASSED A SECRET NOTE OR SOMETHING! ROLAND I…I…" Lilith pulled him in and kissed him as passionately as she knew how, making up for every lost moment that Jack had taken from them. After a bit, Lilith pulled away with tears running down her cheek and whimpered, "Don't ever do that to me again… please…"

Roland cradled her and said, "I'm here Lilith, and I don't plan on leaving for a long time…" The Crimson Raiders cheered as the two kissed each other again, for once things were pretty good.

Later that night, the group organized a celebratory dinner for the return of their once fallen leader. Salvador raised his glass and cheered, "A toast to Roland! The man came back from the dead, AND saved our asses!"

"Hey, I helped to," Mordecai said in a mock grumpy voice. Everyone laughed and began eating. "So Roland, since the New U system did work, why didn't you spawn through clap trap?" Gaige asked with a mouth full of food.

"Well when I did come to life, I spawned in sanctuary. I appeared with the hood on and a large knife. It was a little strange being alive again, so it took some time to get used to it. I was planning to contact one of you, but then Angel contacted me somehow. She told me that the DAHL Corporation would soon be coming to take sanctuary, and I needed to set up this safe house before they came, so I did. When I saw you all arrive, a began to construct a plan to take back Pandora, which has been working pretty well so far."

"Wait, Angel knew too?" Lilith asked, trying to figure out what happened.

Roland took a sip from his ale and answered, "Yeah, she was the one who actually redirected me spawning location to sanctuary. It turns out she really was good all along."

Lilith nodded, "She and Zer0 are on the outside, trying to find a way to help from there. I guess you're now the leader of the Raiders again since you're alive and all."

"Alright then, but I am still going to need all of your help. From what I've heard, Katelyn Dahl has an even more sinister purpose behind this, involving the New U station."

"Wait," interrupted Maya, "shouldn't she be succeeding right now? I mean it's not that I'm unhappy or anything, but the New U station does work."

Roland nodded and said, "Dahl doesn't know that. We've tricked her into believing that Gaige's design didn't work. She's still building different prototypes, trying to use them to spawn whatever she is trying to bring back."

"HAH! I knew I was right! I never build a faulty machine!" Gaige exclaimed triumphantly. The Raiders all laughed as she did a victory jig that looked like a cross between the Thriller and Gangnam style. Lilith looked around and saw the whole group together, well almost, but everyone was alive. She was glad to be part of this happy, dysfunctional, family.

**A/N: He's back baby! Prepare for shit to get real. Leave a review or a favorite if you really liked it!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Well here is my ninth chapter, I hope you all enjoy! Remember to leave a review once you finish, I love to hear feedback.**

** BubbyGum24: I thought people might like the whole Angel stripper thing, the whole situation was rather ironic.**

** Cross Varia: Thanks, this chapter has a lot of Axton in it, so I think you'll like it!**

** Terrobyte TC: Yeah, I figured the hooded figure would be a good way to introduce him.**

** RisingS: I'm glad you figured it out, I was kinda hoping some of the readers would before I revealed his identity.**

** Master Drummer: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. PSY ftw.**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: Yeah, I'm not to into the rated M lemon kind of stuff. I will create romance and kinda steamy scenes, but that bit between Mordecai and Moxxi is about as far as I'll go. This story is basically T only because of the language and some bloody scenes.**

Chapter Nine: Pirate's Life

Zer0 woke up and looked around the room. He didn't know how long he had been sleeping, but he felt great. Angel was sitting on her bed with a laptop in front of her, using her siren powers to work on something. Zer0 walked over curiously to see what it was. When he looked at the screen, he saw three men, all with DAHL business suits, on the computer. "By linking the key cards to the others through phase shift, I've been able to find the identities of the three other we need," Angel said to him as she continued to type information in her laptop.

"Just point me to them, I will assassinate them, they don't stand a chance," Zer0 responded, loading up his sniper rifle.

"Well here are our options. The first, and probably easiest to get to, is Ian Andrews. He's in Oasis right now on his luxury sand cruiser. The other two are holed up pretty tight. Henry Elwood, possibly the richest of the four, is in his skyscraper in the city of New Opportunity, which is now fully inhabited so that may make thing tough. The last calls himself Ryan Saturn; he is notoriously cruel and violent. Saturn will probably be the most difficult to catch because he's located on a DAHL ship that's in orbit around Pandora. I suggest we start with Mr. Andrews, seeing as he's the most accessible."

Zer0 nodded, "That sounds good to me, I have explored there before, we looked for treasure."

"Oh really," Angel asked, "then do you know anyone who may be able to help us."

Zer0 again nodded and answered, "I know a pirate, one by the name of Scarlett, she'll probably help."

"Then take us to her," Angel said as she hopped in the car. Zer0 jumped in the drivers seat and started the engine. The two drove off towards the famous sea of sand, once home to the great Leviathan.

In a couple of hours, Angel and Zer0 arrived at the town of Oasis. Immediately when they walked in, a voice screamed over their echo comm, "OH MY GOD! It's one of my best friends! And you haven't died of thirst!" Zer0 groaned and shook his head, putting his hands on his face. Angel looked at him curiously and asked, "What's wrong?" Zer0 pointed towards what looked like a concession stand. Angel looked closer and saw a quite hideous looking man. "Hey bestie over here! I have to cherish the visits of friends who haven't died of dehydration," the man yelled as he waved over to them. They walked over to him, the man saw Angel and immediately got more excited. "Oh my God you brought another alive person! It'll be an alive person party!"

Angel's powers told her something strange was happening to her echo, she was getting hacked. She immediately used her phase shift to stop the attempt and told the strange man, "Have you hacked all of their echos? That's invasion of privacy!"

"No, I'd never do that! I was just trying to make sure I didn't lose you. By the way, my name's Shade," the man said, cowering in fear. Zer0 laughed, but shut up when Angel shot him a glare too.

"Well Shade, do you know where a woman named Captain Scarlett might be?"

"Who's asking?" a British sounding voice said behind them. The two turned and saw a woman with an eye patch, a peg leg, and a huge hook on her left hand. Once the woman caught a sight of Zer0's helmet her eyes widened. "I remember you! You're that grumpy fellow with the sword who always speaks in poems," she exclaimed.

"Are you Captain Scarlett?" Angel asked, trying to figure out if they could trust her or not.

The woman bowed and said, "The one and only. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I don't think I've seen you before."

Angel shook her head and introduced herself. "My name's Angel, and I'm guessing you already know Zer0," she said, holding out her hand politely. Scarlett stuck her hook out and the two shook.

"So what is it you need love. I got the time if you got the money," Scarlett motioned for the two to follow her back to her ship.

"We require your help, there's a cruiser around here, we need to rob it," Zer0 told her as they continued to climb up the latter onto Scarlett's vessel.

"And what's in it for me? I saw that ship had the DAHL symbol on it and to be honest I'm not in any hurry to piss of the company controlling our beloved planet," Scarlett said as she led them to the captain's room. Once they entered, Scarlett closed the door behind them and walked over towards a large table in the middle.

"You're a pirate though, I thought you guys robbed cargo ships all the time," Angel exclaimed in confusion.

Scarlett nodded, "yeah but that doesn't mean we're mentally ill. What could my crew gain from this raid?"

Zer0 thought for a second, and then answered, "The ship is loaded, overflowing with riches, you can have it all." Scarlett's eyes widened when she heard the words, "overflowing with riches". She turned and called to her crew, "All you dogs get ready to set sail! We're going to rob this rich bastard blind!" Cheers from her crew resonated outside as the sounds of anchors being raised and the ship's jets activating were brought to life. "Now tell me about this bloody rich fellow, how much has he got?"

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Roland gathered all the Raiders together in their control room to start planning major moves against DAHL. When the whole group was together, Roland started to tell them his plan. "Alright everyone, listen up. The first thing your all probably wondering about is the bomb threat Katelyn had made against this city. I would first like to tell you that it is probably false. If she does have the bombs though, she's not willing to use them until she finishes whatever she's working on. Now I know you all feel defeated, but this is far from over. Before I died, things seemed totally hopeless. But from what I've seen and heard, you all came back and defeated the tyrant against all odds. It's time to fight back against DAHL just like we did to Hyperion. So here's what I propose, first we have to find what DAHL may want with the New U system. To do this, we're going to need our very own, clap trap. I've compiled a team to go and grab him from the surface and bring him down here, so let's begin. Axton and Maya will disguise themselves as citizens and try to bring clap trap down here as quietly as possible. Put him in sleep mode, if necessary. Mordecai, you will be watching the two from the roofs using this basic cloaking device Zer0 showed me how to make." Roland handed Mordecai a strange looking device, which Mordecai attached to his echo. Once he finished, he gave Roland the thumbs up and walked towards the exit. Lilith walked over to Roland and pulled him to the side, away from the group. "Roland," she whispered, "I don't think it's a great plan to put Maya and Axton together right now…"

"Well whatever it is, it can't get in the way of the mission. We've got to send them in anyways.

Axton walked quickly in front of Maya, trying to gain distance from her. "Oh what, now you can't even be near me?" she yelled to him as she tried to catch up. Axton didn't say a word as he kept walking down towards the safe house exit. He saw Mordecai had already left, probably to position himself on the roof. Maya kept calling to him, but he wouldn't respond, not after what she did. She was about to open her mouth again, when Axton shushed her, nodding his head towards the door. The two put up their hoods and pulled their bandanas over their mouths.

Axton slowly opened the door and the two crept out. He then closed the door slowly behind them, locking it without a sound. They looked around for any DAHL guards, and once they saw the cost was clear they made their way towards clap trap's den. Axton held his head down as he looked for the stupid robot. Finally, he spotted claptrap in sleep mode next to a Zed's meds vender. At least he had his work cut out for him now. Axton slung the robot over his shoulders and waved for Maya, who followed close behind. As they walked, Axton overheard two DAHL soldiers talking.

"So why does that Axton guy have it out for the lieutenant, you know, besides the obvious reasons," one of them asked the other.

The second soldier laughed and said, "I heard Lt. Copper was involved with the dude's wife. You know he used to be one of the best soldiers in this army? They say he was jealous of Axton"

"Well Copper obviously came out on top in the end. Took the dude's wife and had him killed, or I guess so they thought at the time." When Axton heard this, he clenched his fist in anger. Maya saw this and put her hand on his shoulder, shaking her head to tell him not to react. "God, I can't believe he just let Copper take his wife," one of them remarked, "he must have been a pretty bad husband. Either that or she just really liked the lieutenant's jock!" Both of them burst out laughing once he said that. Axton couldn't take it any more, he was going to shut those bastards up.

As the two began to stop laughing, they heard a voice beside them. "You forgot one part to that story though."

The two soldiers, not even turning around, said, "Oh, and what would that be?"

"The part where I break Copper's neck and feed his dick to the skags." The two soldiers spun around and saw Axton holding a pistol up towards them. Before either of the two could speak up, Axton shot one of them straight between the eyeballs. The other DAHL soldier screamed, "It's him!" as he scrambled for his gun. Axton easily shot the other one through his neck, then turned to the oncoming soldiers. The commando threw out his turret and taunted, "have you all met my new girlfriend? I challenge Copper to stick his dick in this one!" The turret burst to life, mowing down every soldier in range. Maya slipped away into the safe house as Axton went on his massacre, trying to avoid his fire, lest he decide he especially hated her at the moment. "You bastards, you'll never take me! I'll hang you all with your own fucking entrails!"

Mordecai began firing shots into the crowd of soldiers, trying to help Axton escape with his life. "You mother fuckers are all gonna pay, I'm going to burn this company to the ground!" Axton continued to yell profanities, daring any soldier to challenge him. One brave man ran at him with a bowie knife, trying to end the commando's rampage. Axton laughed while he pulled out his tomahawk and swung it into the soldier's hand. The soldier wailed in pain as Axton brought out another and lodged it into the side of the attacker's head with a blood curling "THWACK!" Axton had lost all sense of reality and mercy; he was on a bloody frenzy. He threw one his tomahawks over towards the crowd, landing a hit on a soldier's forehead.

As the odds started to stack against him, Axton kept fighting. A DAHL cyborg rushed him, but was soon met by the butt of Axton's shotgun. The commando flipped the shotgun around and unleashed a shot on the cyborg's face, tearing it up completely. Another soldier tried to jump at him, but Axton turned quickly and shot the man, causing him to fly backwards into his fellow DAHL troops. Axton noticed he was starting to get outnumbered as he fought back the hoards of soldiers, but he was a man with nothing left. He was ready to die. Suddenly, a purple light engulfed him and pulled him away from the fight.

Once he was pulled back into reality, he saw his fellow Crimson Raiders surrounded him. Some of them gave him smiling looks of approval, like Salvador, while others such as Lilith glared at him for such a stupid move. "What was that soldier," Roland said, "the mission was get clap trap then get out. Not kill as many people as possible."

"Those bastards were asking for it. I couldn't let them just stand there and keep saying what they were saying."

Lilith joined in, "What could they have possibly said that could have made you act so brashly?"

"I thought it was kinda badass," Salvador piped in, but was soon met with a death glare from Maya. "You could have gotten seriously hurt," Roland lectured, "why would you do such a thing?"

Axton snarled, "I don't need to tell any of you a thing. I'm going to my room." With that, Axton stormed out of the room, still covered in the blood of DAHL soldiers.

As Axton lay down and stared at the ceiling, he thought about what had overcome him. Why did he do that, he knew it was practically suicide. He realized that maybe the rest were right, maybe he was trying to kill himself out there. In the heat of battle, he had become so accepting of death that he didn't even think about it. In fact, during the fight he had embraced the fact that he would probably die. Axton pulled Sarah's dog tags out from his shirt and looked at his reflection. Was this why Sarah had left him, because of the stupid decisions he made? Was this why Maya chose Copper over him also?

A knock at the door interrupted his train of thought. He walked over and opened up the door and saw Maya with a concerned look on her face. "Axton, why? Why are you so eager to throw yourself into hell?"

"When a man has nothing left, he gets desperate," he answered, walking back to his bed. Maya walked over and sat down next to him, putting her arm around him.

"Please don't do stuff like that ever again. If you die, that's it. We can't bring you back without the headpiece, it's over," she said, holding back tears.

Axton just lowered his head and asked her, "what would you do, if you lost everything you cared about to one person, and no matter how you tried, that person always came out on top. Maya, Copper ruined me. He took Sarah from me, he took my military carrier from me… he took you from me."

"Why do you act like I'm gone, I'm still here with you Axton!" Maya told him as she turned his head to look at her, as if trying to prove she still existed.

"No Maya, you loved him over me. That's something I can never change."

Maya yelled at him, "No Axton, I never did! In fact, Copper was angry at me because I cared for you so much! Axton, it's always been you… please just believe me."

Axton looked at her and saw something he hadn't noticed before. Behind the siren's eyes were the signs of a life of pain and betrayal. He remembered when they used to be together, how happy he once was. Axton took Maya's hand and leaned in closer to her. "I'm sorry I put you through this, can you ever forgive me?" he asked her, realizing how much he had hurt her. Maya leaned forward and kissed his lips lightly, then said, "I already have."

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"Ahoy, melady! A ship!" the lookout called from the crow's nest. Scarlett pulled out a scope and looked through it in the direction her lookout had pointed. She smiled when she saw the target and called out to the crew, "READY THE CANNONS, PREPARE FOR BATTLE MEN!" Zer0 and Angel prepared their gear with the boarding team as Scarlett walked down below deck to see them. "No remember what I told you. Don't swing first or you're more likely to get shot or eaten by a hungry sand worm. Also if they offer me any amount of money that's more than what is on that ship, I will most absolutely stab you in the back. Oh this is going to be such fun!"

"Wait, you'll stab us in the back?" Angel asked nervously. Before Scarlett could answer her, the ship rumbled and came to a sudden halt. "Oh, looks like we hit the other ship! Time for you two to go!" Scarlett said as she shoved the two out the door.

When they reached the upper deck, Zer0 saw the pirates swinging to the other ship and fighting sword and knife against DAHL soldiers. Angel started to have second thoughts. She started to say, "I don't know about this one Zer0, I think…" Zer0 wouldn't let her think twice about this. He grabbed Angel by her hips before she could finish her sentence and swung to the other side, his female companion screaming the whole time. Once the two landed on the deck, Angel took a couple seconds to catch her breath.

A DAHL soldier ran at Zer0 with a knife, trying to surprise him. Zer0 turned and blocked with his sword, then with a swift swing, cut off the man's hand, and then drove his katana into the soldier's chest. As another soldier ran over to help, Zer0 jumped in the air and kicked the impaled victim with two feet, sending him into his comrade. The sword went straight throw the second soldier as well, causing the two to collapse on the ground. Zer0 turned and saw a cyborg with a gun aimed at him. Right as the cyborg was about to fire, its robotic parts exploded, causing the abomination to die instantly. Angel grabbed Zer0 by the wrist and saidm "C'mon, we gotta find Andrews!" The two ran over towards the door to the captain's quarters, dodging and killing any DAHL official in their way.

Before they could reach the door, a huge and heavily armored DAHL shock trooper dropped down in front of the. As he stood up, he pulled out an obnoxiously large cutlass and laughed, "Sorry, but you won't be getting to the captain. You see I'm his first mate, and I earned the title through blood and murder. I've never been defeated in a duel before, and I don't expect to be." The first mate pointed towards Zer0 and said, "But you, assassin. I've heard the stories about you, how well you fight with a blade. If you can kill me in a duel, I'll let you pass." Angel started forward towards him, but Zer0 stopped her. She looked at him and asked, "You aren't seriously going to do this right? We can both take him!"

"I must not back down, if I am challenged I'll fight, I don't ever lose," Zer0 said as he drew his katana, its blade glowing blue with energy. The first mate smiled and walked forward, holding out his sword as well. The two circled each other a couple times, analyzing each other's movements. Finally, Zer0 made the first move. With blinding speed, he lunged towards his foe, katana ready to strike. What he expected was a clean slice through all he bones and sinew of his victim, what he got was a powerful block from the ship's first mate. Zer0's foe swung his cutlass in a sweep, trying to get Zer0 off balance. Ze0 back flipped over the sword and pushed himself off the mast behind him. The assassin flew at him and swung his katana again for a second strike. The first mate couldn't react on time and was punished with a large cut across his chest.

Zer0 now had analyzed his foe and knew his weakness. While the first mate was powerful, he was not by any means fast like Zer0. He readied himself for another lunge while the first mate turned to face him. "Lucky shot!" he yelled, enraged that the assassin had drawn first blood. Zer0's plan was clear, abuse his speed and tiger like reflexes. The sailor charged at him, his sword ready for attack. Zer0 ran towards him, but then to the first mate's surprised, slid under his legs. Before Zer0's foe could turn, Zer0 launched himself towards him, unleashing another devastating slash. The first mate cried out in pain as he was knocked forward, but Zer0 wasn't done yet. As the sailor swung his cutlass at the assassin, Zer0 jumped over it and swung his foot into the side of his head. He followed the move with swing from his katana, cutting the first mate's arm to the bone.

Zer0 was in a whole new mindset, the blood, the chance for a kill, it was all so exhilarating. The first mate charged forward with his cutlass and brought it down powerfully, trying to smash Zer0 in frustration. The assassin just rolled to the side and swept at the sailor's feet, causing him to trip. Before he could get up, Zer0 jumped into the air and drove his sword through the first mate's rib cage. Blood splattered onto Zer0's helmet as he twisted his sword inside his victim. "You win," the first mate screamed, "stop please!" But Zer0's sanity was long gone, and what replaced it was a cold and efficient killing machine. The assassin continued to twist the sword as he smiled maliciously under his helmet, enjoying each scream as if it was a symphony. Something from outside pulled him out of his blood lust. "Zer0 stop it! That's enough!" Angel screamed, trying to pull Zer0 off of the man. Zer0 got up and looked to his hands, they were coated with a sticky red layer of blood. He saw Angel with tears in her eyes, what had he done that had made her so upset? "Come on Angel, we must find Mr. Andrews, we must take his key," Zer0 said, waving for Angel to follow him.

"You go ahead, I'll just stay behind and guard the door," she said as she picked up a gun from a pirate's corpse. Zer0 decided he would deal with this problem later, and ran over towards the captain's quarters. He kicked down the door and was ambushed by none other then Ian Andrews. The assassin blocked the dagger and grabbed Ian's neck as the businessman stumbled back. "A cowardly move, give me the key card Andrews, give it to me now!" Zer0 snarled as he slammed Ian Andrews into the side of the cabin.

"Please don't kill me! I'll do whatever you want," Andrews wailed as Zer0 pressed the blade of his sword against his neck. Zer0 nodded towards him, causing Ian to fumble through his coat pocket and pull out the Hyperion key card. Zer0 grabbed the card and dropped him on the ground. Andrews scrambled backwards as Zer0 walked towards him slowly, ready to end his life with a swift blow to the head. Suddenly, the captain's door swung open and in walked captain Scarlett. "I saw that fight with the first mate there. What a performance it was, you can put on a bloody good show I'll give you that!" Scarlett turned towards Andrews and asked Zer0, "Is the man pissing his pants in the corner Ian Andrews?" Zer0 nodded in response, causing Scarlett to smile. She walked over to the DAHL board member and slid her hook through his collar. "He'll sell for a great ransom, this one. Why don't you and your friend head back to the ship and me and my crew will clean up and grab whatever loot was left behind. Zer0 sheathed his katana and walked out of the cabin.

He looked around to find Angel, and then saw her on the Scarlett's ship. Zer0 wondered what had made her so upset; he was just killing another fiend like he always did. She had seen him kill before; it was nothing new. Then he looked down at his blood-covered hands and realized what had made Angel so upset. She believed that no one deserved a horrible tortured death, not even her own father. He had promised her that he would not kill so ruthlessly and violently anymore, but he had broken his word. Zer0 swung over to the other ship and followed Angel below deck, man was he going to get it for this one.

**A/N: Well there she is, captain Scarlett. I find her character hilarious and couldn't resist adding her in. I just hope I captured her personality well!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I hope you all enjoy chapter ten. Remember to leave a review if you can!**

** Master Drummer: Yeah, I have big plans for Axton. And yes, DAHL must fall.**

** deadpool69: I figured it's been a while since anyone has gone on a good rampage, so there it is!**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: Thanks for the feedback on Scarlett, and np about the rated m thing. I just honestly am not good at writing that stuff.**

Chapter Ten: A look at Mrs. Dahl

"What is wrong Angel, why did you bail out on me, why were you upset?" Zer0 asked as he followed Angel down to their cabin. Angel wouldn't answer him until he put his hand on her shoulder and stopped her. She turned towards him with an angry expression, her eyes red from crying.

"Zer0, you tore that man apart!"

A question mark appeared over the confused assassin's head. "I killed the man, you have seen me kill people."

"That's not why I'm upset. The way you killed him was so coldblooded and merciless, no one deserves to die in such a way."

"He tried to kill us, the man deserved suffering, the man felt his sins," Zer0 said, trying to redeem himself to her. Angel just shook her head and pulled him down next to her.

"Zer0, people do bad things. I know you yourself have done terrible things in your lifetime. You must learn to let go and forgive. You can bring as more people to 'justice' then any hero has in a life time, but if you don't let go, you're no better then them." Zer0 hung his head and thought about her words. He was never one to forget, every time someone had wronged him, he swore vengeance. When he swore vengeance, he never let his victim go, all except one. Angel's betrayal was one of the most painful experiences he had ever gone through, topping every time he had gotten shot, insulted, or beaten. Somehow, he had been able to forgive her after all she did. Angel put her hand on Zer0's helmet and turned his face towards her. "I know you're better then this. You may think you're a cold hearted bloodthirsty assassin, but I don't," she whispered to him, looking him straight in the eyes with a loving gaze. She leaned over and kissed the forehead of his mask lightly, then gave him a warm smile. Zer0 couldn't believe she had gotten over her anger so quickly, how was this woman the daughter of Handsome Jack? From above deck, the two heard captain Scarlett yell, "Oy, you two down below, we're back in Oasis!" Zer0 and Angel walked above deck and saw the ship had indeed stopped by the sand port town. Scarlett nodded towards them with a smile. "We'll have to do that again, eh? That was some of the best fun I've had in years!"

"Thanks for all your help Scarlett," Angel said as she followed Zer0 down the latter.

Scarlett winked at her and answered, "No problem mate, just take good care of that one, alright?" Angel smiled and nodded, then proceeded to climb down to Oasis. Zer0 stood at the bottom waiting for her with the key card out. "Well that worked out well, all things considered," Angel said, trying to stay optimistic.

"Don't count your chickens, we still have the two others, who should we chase next?" Zer0 asked as he sat down on a bench by Shade's stand. Angel took a look at the two others, Elwood and Saturn. Elwood would probably be the most simple out of the two, but she knew the tower would be difficult to escape. It was tall and thin, and the only two exits were out the bottom or off the top. They would have to commandeer a buzzard for the extraction. Then Angel remembered their escape from prison all those years ago. Gaige had driven the buzzard in a nosedive in order to catch Zer0 while he was falling, maybe she could pull that off to. They were going to need expert timing, but they could pull it off. "We're going after Elwood next," Angel told Zer0, "Get the car ready, we're heading to New Opportunity!"

After a three-hour drive, the two arrived in the grand city, now under control by the DAHL Corporation. Zer0 jumped out of the car and looked to the skyline. Towering over him, he saw the tallest skyscraper he had ever seen in his life. "That's Elwood tower," Angel explained as she walked over next to him, "you see why this is going to be difficult now." She was right, the tower was in the middle of the city and extremely high off the ground. This was going to be a difficult heist.

Zer0 looked around for a weak point in the tower, but guards covered every entrance. "I will use my cloak, they will not know I've passed them, that's the easy part," Zer0 said as he analyzed his points of infiltration. Angel nodded in agreement and said, "While you sneak in and reach the top, I will steal a buzzard and use it to pick you up at the top if all goes well." Zer0 pulled out his gear and started to check it for problems. His katana, his most reliable weapon, was functional as always. Zer0 spread out his throwing knifes, checking to see if he had enough; then proceeded to clean his sniper rifle. After he finished maintenance, he packed all his equipment back up and signaled to Angel he was ready for the heist.

Angel snuck off into the shadows, going off to find them a buzzard, as Zer0 vanished from sight and began heading towards Elwood tower. The two gate guards were DAHL ultras, sporting heavy armor and large assault rifles. Zer0 quietly dove over the two and landed unnoticed. He turned and smiled under his mask at his success. The ground floor was fairly good looking, but that was expected because that's all guests usually saw. Zer0 climbed his way up the stairs and towards the roof; Henry Elwood was no longer safe.

Once Zer0 got to the fiftieth floor, he spotted trouble. Two DAHL eye soldiers were guarding the top of the staircase. Eye soldiers were given special optic devices that allowed them to see even the most hidden enemies. Zer0 had to think of something to get passed the two without alerting the rest of the guards. "Angel I need help," he whispered over the echo comm., "there are two DAHL eye soldiers, I can't get past them."

"Hold on Zer0, I have a plan," Angel responded, and then hung up. Zer0 sat in wait for her distraction, wondering how he would know what it was. Suddenly, the power in the tower went out, causing the soldiers to look away from his position. Zer0 saw his window of opportunity and went for it. The assassin jumped from his cover and through a dagger at one of them, hitting him straight in the eye. Before the other could respond, Zer0 lunged at him and severed his top half from his bottom with one swift and powerful swing of the katana. With the two guards disposed, Zer0 was able to continue up the tower unseen.

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"Mam, I have some good news and bad news." Katelyn Dahl turned around in her office to see Lt. Copper standing behind her. "The bad news is that the Crimson Raider's resistance headquarters has not yet been found," he continued, "the good news is that we no longer need care. The New U system is almost functional, so we can leave this God forsaken city."

"What are you talking about Lieutenant, I don't give a shit about the New U system," she responded as she looked back to her screen, which displayed all activity of her DAHL soldiers. Copper looked at her, stunned.

"Mam?" he asked, as if he hadn't heard her correctly.

Katelyn turned towards him and asked, "How far has development gone?"

"Um, we have gotten to the point where we can find the person before they have died and pull them into the system. We still aren't able to reconstruct their body, that white burst back in the Hyperion ruins made sure of that," Copper answered, still trying to figure out why Katelyn didn't care about the New U system.

"Good, stop development immediately," she commanded to him in a low tone of voice. Copper was again shocked by what he heard, had his leader gone insane?

"W-wait, wasn't that why we were doing this in the first place? I thought you were trying to bring someone back," Copper stammered, trying to put together what was happening. Katelyn sighed in annoyance, she was sure she had told him this before.

"I do, the New U station uses time travel technology to pull someone's body into the database right before death so it can re-construct them," she explained to the confused Lieutenant.

"Wait," Copper asked, "what does this have to do with bringing someone back?"

Katelyn shot him a glare and growled, "Let me finish. There is a way one can rewire the system to allow you to warp to the past, just as it warps the recently deceased to the future." Katelyn stopped for a second and let out a sad sigh. She wiped her eyes as she said solemnly; "The one I want to bring back was not himself when he died. To save him, I need to go back into the past and change a horrible mistake, it's the only way I can get him back." Copper saw Katelyn do something he didn't even know she could, she started to tear up. Though there were tears in her eyes, she didn't cry. She would never cry, for he was not gone. She still had a chance, and she was not going to let go. Not when she didn't even get to tell him goodbye. "I'm going to go relay the orders, but before I go there is one thing," Copper told her as he walked through the door.

"What is it Allen," she responded, not turning to face him.

"The assassin is confirmed to be alive, and he is helping the resistance from the outside with Angel, the daughter of the notorious Handsome Jack. Zero's taken out two of our board members so far and had taken their keys. Pretty soon, he'll be able to access our stronghold's facilities. Should we send the remaining two extra protection?"

"Let them be, but send out one message to the both board members. Do not, under any circumstance, kill the siren. She is to be kept alive," Katelyn barked, regaining her former strength. Copper nodded and ran out the door to carry out his leader's orders. Katelyn turned back once again to her computer screen and watched the images being displayed. The room was silent as Katelyn continued to loose herself in the things she saw, becoming more determined with each picture.

Copper entered the barracks and pulled out his gun from its locker. As he began to clean it before entering the city, where he would relay the message, a soldier ran up to him. The lieutenant raised his head and calmly said, "Yes?"

"There's been a massacre of our soldiers in the city, more then fifty good DAHL men are dead."

Copper's eyes widened as he snapped in attention. "Who did this to my soldiers?" he yelled as he grabbed the poor messenger by the collar.

"The reports say it was Axton sir, you should be able to watch the fight on the security tapes in the city," the soldier stammered in fear of his commanding officer. Copper dropped the man, who scrambled out the door as fast as possible, and grabbed his assault rifle. "Axton, you always were brash. One day it's gonna bite you in the ass harder then it did when Sarah left you."

"So what are you going to do?" a woman's voice asked him.

Copper turned and smiled when he saw her. "He'll show up soon enough. When the Raiders make their next move, we'll be there with our guns ready. Their little rebellion won't see the light of day."

"Would you like me to go prepare the troops in case of another attack?"

Copper nodded and said, "We can't have a repeat of last time. Make sure they are extra attentive and tell them to respond against any suspicious behavior, no matter how small it is."

As the woman walked out to carry out his orders, Copper sat trying to think of a plan. That bastard wasn't going to get the best of him this time; Axton was not the better man. The commando was selfish and glory seeking, how could he be? Copper seethed with rage as he thought of how Axton had single handedly embarrassed his troops, killing fifty of them and escaping with not even a scratch. This had to end.

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Zer0 finally reached the top floor after the long climb he had endured. He took a couple seconds to rest at the top, using the time to call up Angel. "I'm on the top floor, I see Elwood's office here, ready extraction," he panted through his echo device.

"I hear you loud and clear Zer0," Angel responded, "I've got the transport buzzard ready, all you need to do is grab the key and run."

Zer0 nodded in understanding and made his way to the door quietly. He peaked through the keyhole of Henry Elwood's office and saw a man sitting at his desk with multiple guards in the room. "What, we don't kill her," the man spoke over the phone, "alright, okay fine. Understood." Once he hung up he signaled for one of the guards to come over. The DAHL jet trooper walked over with a silver suitcase and put it on his desk. Elwood opened up the case and put his key card inside. Once Zer0 caught sight of the target, it was time to put his plan into motion.

He cautiously knocked on the door and backed away, keeping himself cloaked the whole time. In a couple of seconds, one of the soldiers opened up the door and looked around. Zer0 crept up behind him, and then with a powerful thrust, stabbed his katana through the man's abdomen. The soldier cried out in pain as Zer0 pushed through the door, using the impaled man's body to shield him from the shower of bullets. As he pushed forward, he vanished again, leaving a hologram of himself holding up the dead soldier. As the others approached slowly, Zer0 jumped into sight and kicked one of the soldiers over towards the others. One tried to rush him with the bayonet of his gun, but Zer0 quickly blocked the attack. The assassin smashed his head into the soldier's forehead, causing him to stumble backwards. As the soldier swayed backwards, Zer0 followed up his head but with a swift an elbow to the chin, then stabbed his sword through the soldier's chest. Zer0 then flipped over the soldier's body and shoved it into one of his comrades. The sword jabbed the jet trooper in the heart, leaving the man on the floor bleeding to death. Zer0 pulled his sword from the DAHL soldiers and turned to Henry, who was pointing a gun right at him.

"So long chump," he spat as he fired off the revolver towards the masked assassin. The bullet hit him dead on, knocking Zer0 over in what seemed like slow motion. As the body continued to fall, it flickered away into nothingness. Before Henry could react, Zer0 appeared behind them and cut off his head, letting it roll away from Elwood's body. The fight had been too easy, Zer0 was actually a bit disappointed. He looked around the room and saw the silver suitcase with the key in it lying on Henry's desk.

As Zer0 grabbed the suitcase, the office door burst open and in rushed hundreds of DAHL soldiers, all pointing their guns towards him. "FREEZE," one of them yelled, "put your hands over your head, you are under arrest in the name of the DAHL Corporation!" Zer0 held his hands up slowly, there was only one way out of this situation, and that was the one he had seen coming from the very beginning. He whispered quietly through his echo comm., "Can you catch me?" as he started to back towards the window. DAHL buzzards started to rise into view; trying to maintain a perimeter around the assassin they had been trying so desperately to catch. Angel's voice answered over the intercom, "go for it." Zer0 took a deep breath, as he planned his movements wisely. Finally, with a sudden movement, he jumped through the window, evading the volley of bullets that soon followed his move.

Everything seemed so peaceful in freefall; the feeling of complete weightlessness was intoxicating. Zer0 enjoyed the quiet until it was broken by the sounds of buzzards and jet troopers closing in on him. He turned to face the heavens and saw soldiers flying down towards him, trying to recover the precious suitcase. Zer0 started to fire at them with his sniper rifle, the recoil causing him to flip in the air as the wind whipped around him. A jet soldier closed in on him and tried to reach for the key, but Zer0 was ready. He pulled out his sword and spun in the air, cutting off one of the wings of the soldier's jet pack. The man spun out of balance and into a buzzard, causing it to spin out of control into a close by building. Another one of the buzzards started to shot a missile at him, but it missed and blew up on a building nearby, nearly singing the assassin. The explosion pushed Zer0 towards the buzzard as he latched onto its cockpit. He brought his sword up and drove it through the cockpit, killing the pilot and causing the buzzard to do a flip in the air and lose its speed, causing it to fall behind. Windows flew by as he rapidly gained speed and momentum from the fall.

Angel's buzzard dove in front of Zer0 as the other troopers tried to catch up with him. Adrenaline pumped through him as Zer0 through out two knives, both landing a hit on two of the soldiers. "C'mon Zer0, you can make it!" yelled Angel as she tried to keep the buzzard lined up with him. Zer0 saw the ground rapidly approaching; it was now or never. Angel started to slow her speed, trying to keep the buzzard vertical so Zer0 could drop into its open cargo trunk. Zer0 reached out and grabbed the back of the buzzard and pulled himself in as the door slammed close. "Hold on!" Angel yelled to him, as she started to pull the aircraft up. The buzzard swung forward, barely missing the street below them. Zer0 was tossed around as Angel flew the chopper away as fast as she could, trying to lose the fleet chasing them. The excitement of the fall was still running through him, causing him to barely be able to stay still. He pulled the suitcase off of his back and unlocked it to look inside. The green DAHL key card reflected the dim lights of the buzzard's cargo hold as Zer0 held it up. He pocketed the key card as Angel called back to him, "get ready, we're about to land."

When they touched ground, Zer0 stumbled out of the back, feeling disoriented from the free fall. His head felt extremely light as the adrenaline started to abandon him, leaving him feeling weak and extremely tired. Angel ran over to him and helped him up with a smile. "That was one of the scariest moments of my life," she remarked as she walked him over towards their car.

"You thought it was bad, I was the one free falling, I get to fly next," Zer0 panted as he climbed in the gunner seat, refusing to drive after his tiring escape. Angel laughed and jumped in the driver seat and buckled up her seatbelt. Zer0 started to snicker as she did so, causing her to look back at him and ask, "What's so funny?"

Zer0 laughed, "You are Angel, only you wear a seat belt, nobody else does." Angel stuck her tongue out at him and began to drive them back to Rita's bar for some well deserved rest.

**A/N: Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, remember to review and leave a favorite if you really liked it!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Here is my eleventh chapter, hope you all enjoy!**

** ConfettiConfederacy: Honestly I just write whenever I have the time. I just use all my free time to write these stories because it's a lot of fun to do so.**

** Master Drummer: If you hate DAHL that much, I think you'll like this one...**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: When I write a story I have a general outline of what I want to happen, but I usually come up with awesome ideas that I can link into the story on the fly. Most my plot twists I made up while I was writing to spice the story up.**

Chapter Eleven: 75%

"I don't understand, by the designs your spies have given us, they should have the New U stations up and running," Gaige pondered out loud as she examined the blueprints she had been handed next to clap trap.

"Well then why haven't they continued with whatever plan they have," Lilith asked as she watched Gaige work.

"Maybe they aren't trying to get the New U stations working," Axton suggested

Roland shook his head, "Then why would they go through all this trouble trying to construct a design for one?"

"Hold on, it looks like they've only developed one thing, the time pull function," Gaige said to the group. As she continued to read through the designs, she started to realize what may be happening. "We need to pay these guys a visit. Right now."

"Why, what's going on," Lilith asked, confused about what Gaige meant.

"I can't be sure, but we need to infiltrate their base of operations to get the most recent designs."

Roland nodded, trusting Gaige that this was the best plan of action. "Alright, if an all out infiltration's what we need, then that's what we'll do. Since we don't have Zer0, we'll have to take the more direct approach."

"How do you suppose we do that, our old headquarters is guarded pretty damn well," asked Maya, trying to think of the best angle of attack.

"Our old headquarters isn't the problem, that's actually the easy part." Everyone stared at Roland as he had just proclaimed his love for Hyperion and all the wonderful things they have done for Pandora. "From what Zer0 has told me through his reports, we are surrounded by a huge containment sphere. If I had to guess, our headquarters has a way to access DAHL's outer facilities. We need to get into the outer shell, that's where we can do some real damage." Everyone nodded in agreement, the plan seemed pretty clear. A full frontal assault would not only take the soldiers by surprise, it could overwhelm the small amounts of troops stationed in the city. "Haha yes," Salvador yelled, "rush in guns a' blazing! Just how I like it!"

"Wait, if we do get to the outer circle, how do we get back?" Mordecai asked

"I can just teleport you back if you call for help over your echo," Lilith offered. The team had a set plan, get to the outer facilities, and then wing it as always. It was infallible. Roland at least hoped so; the last raid he had planned had not gone so well.

Salvador waited outside the old Crimson Lance headquarters for the signal to let all hell loose. He pulled a stogie from his pocket and lit it, breathing in the smoke like it was fresh air. Suddenly, he heard a bird's cry from above them and looked up. Bloodwing Jr. circled above, it was time to move. The dwarf walked over to the guards with his hood up, staying quiet until one of them stopped him. "You, state your business," the guard commanded, pushing Salvador back.

"I've come to teach you putas a lesson," he answered with a calm smile.

"Wait, wha-" Before the guard could finish, Salvador grabbed his arm and tore it off with all his might, causing the man to scream in pain. The gunzerker then turned and proceeded to beat the other to death with the arm, laughing as he did so. Three other guards rushed out to deal with the commotion, but soon found they were filled with bullet holes. As they fell, the Raiders jumped out of their hiding spot and rushed in, killing anyone working with DAHL on site. A large badass tried to jump on Salvador, but was soon slammed into the ground by the mountain of muscle that was Brick. The berserker brought his foot down and smashed the soldier's head, causing it to explode like an over ripe watermelon, shooting blood everywhere.

Axton led up the stairs and gunned down everyone in the hall, then turned the corner and slammed his tomahawk into the stomach of a cyborg guarding the control room. Another cyborg tried to attack the commando from behind, but was tackled by Roland. Roland began to beat the half man half machine with the butt of his gun until a pool of blood surrounded him and the cyborg stopped twitching. "Roland look out!" he heard Lilith yell. He turned and saw a soldier with a large knife lunging at him, but was soon knocked aside by the blast of Lilith's shotgun. She helped him up and said, "I swear to God if you die on me again, I'm gonna find you hell and kill you a third time!"

"I'll try to be careful," he laughed as he got on his feet. Roland walked over to the holo-table and started to examine it with Gaige, trying to find some sort of entrance. "I think I found something," Gaige told him as she continued to take apart the device. Sparks started to fly from the area she was working at and finally, a travel display appeared over the table. "This should take us there," Gaige said as she stood up, dusting the soot off her cloths. Roland started to look through the options and finally found the research and development section. He pushed his hand through the travel button, and a blue light enveloped them.

The group arrived in front of a huge research facility. Roland looked around, Zer0 wasn't kidding; the containment sphere was huge! Outside of sanctuary was what looked like a DAHL city, complete with military bases, business complexes, and soldier barracks. Roland motioned for the team, telling them to follow him. He led them towards the front doors of the facility, which were guarded by two DAHL robots. "Identify yourselves," the robot demanded in an electronic monotone voice.

"Wish we had Angel right now," Lilith muttered, the siren's power over technology would have been useful.

"Well, I guess it's back to plan A," Axton said. He walked over to the robot and pulled out his handgun, firing a shot straight into its power core. The robot exploded, causing the other to respond to the threat. Its arms transformed into energy guns as it started to unload on the Crimson Raiders. Maya dived away from the energy blasts and phase locked the robot, suspending it in the air while it flailed helplessly. Lilith jumped on to it and released a phase blast, destroying the robot and sending its different parts flying away. Roland kicked down the door as the Raiders filed in, guns ready in case others might come to apprehend them. "Stay on your guard, we're only here for the designs, nothing else."

"Nothing else you say,"

The group turned to see where the voice came from. Axton clenched his fist when they saw Lt. Copper near a large door to their side. "Copper, are you this eager to bite the big one," Axton sneered as he aimed his assault rifle.

Copper shook his head and laughed, "I hope you all enjoy the facility, but I think you'll find that whatever you're looking for isn't here."

"Hah, is that what you think? I just found what I was looking for," Axton yelled. The commando broke into a run towards Copper, forgetting the whole mission. The Lieutenant smiled and started to run down the hall away from Axton. "Axton wait!" yelled Roland, "Damnit! Lilith, you take the rest of the team and find the designs we're looking for. I'll go after Copper with Axton." Lilith nodded and kissed him for good luck, then ran off with the rest of the team. Roland ran after Axton, this was not going well at all. He was worried that Axton may make a stupid mistake; if just seeing Copper made him so reckless that he forgot everything else, what would happen in a fight?

Axton ran after Copper as fast as he could, screaming, "Why are you running? To afraid to face me?"

"Unlike you, I have a tactical know how!" Copper yelled back. He snapped his fingers as two soldiers dropped from the sides of the walls and landed in front of Axton. He was not going to give up now, not when his goal was so close. Axton pulled out two tomahawks and lunged at the first, lodging one of the small axes in his neck. As the trooper screamed in pain and pulled at the blade stuck in his neck, the other soldier tried to punch him. Axton ducked under and slammed his fist into his stomach. The soldier doubled over in pain, but the commando wasn't finished yet. Axton kneed the soldier in the chin and then roundhouse kicked him in the temple, showing just how ruthless he could be.

The DAHL troopers went down quickly, but Copper was now even further ahead. Axton pulled his tomahawk from the dead soldier's neck and ran after the Lieutenant. Copper was not going to get away this time. Another soldier ran towards him, but Axton just jumped in the air and let loose a powerful kick to the head, causing the soldier's neck to break with a satisfying crack. The commando was in such a rage he was unstoppable, and Copper saw that. More and more soldiers tried to stop Axton, but each quickly fell to him. Leaving a trail of blood, Axton finally caught up to Copper. Copper pulled out a gun and turned. Right as he was about to fire, the pistol was shot out of his hand. Axton turned and saw Roland, looking down the sights of his gun. "Don't abandon your team like that again!" he yelled as he caught up to Axton.

"Fry me later, right now lets kill this son of a bitch!"

The two continued to chase Copper until he dived through a door and closed it shut behind him. Axton and Roland stopped in their path, trying to figure out a way to follow him. "Damn it, I was so close!" Axton yelled in frustration, kicking the wall.

Roland smiled and said, "You forget that you're talking to an ex. Crimson Lance, I was taught everything there is to know about technology. Give me a bit and I can hack this door." Roland pulled out his tools and started to get to work while Axton paced back and forth. There was nothing that could stop him this time; there was nowhere Copper could run. He was going to get his revenge, and oh was it going to be sweet. Even Jack's death wouldn't be as sadistically satisfying as this man's death; this wasn't only for himself, this was for Sarah, this was for Maya, this was for everything DAHL had done to him. "Are you ready?" he heard Roland ask.

"More ready then I've ever been," he said, cracking his knuckles. Roland nodded and finished unlocking the door, causing it to slide open. The two ran in, guns ready. Axton saw Copper standing in front of them, holding a large kukuri knife. "Well I imagine you two are looking for me," he said in a low, threatening tone, "I was hoping at least one of my elite soldiers could kill you off."

"I've always been the best Copper, you should know that," Axton sneered, pulling out two tomahawks.

"You two can't win, you never stood a chance," Copper boasted, readying his knife.

Roland laughed, "Two on one, lieutenant the odds don't seem to be in your favor."

Copper smiled and answered, "Who ever said it was two on one?" Axton and Roland heard footsteps as another soldier joined Copper's side. Axton examined this soldier, she didn't look any different then the others. She would be an easy kill. "Another soldier? That's your back up? You must be loosing it if-" Axton suddenly stopped as the soldier took off her DAHL combat helmet, revealing her face. Something inside him shattered, causing him to lose all confidence and bravado he once had. Axton froze as he tried to piece together how any of this was possible, it couldn't be her. "Axton, Axton are you alright?" Roland asked, nervous about the commando's sudden silence. Axton continued to stare, her short brown hair, her hazel eyes, it was impossible. He finally managed to get one word to leave his mouth, "Sarah?"

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Angel knew their next target would be near impossible, but that was to be expected. Mr. Saturn was on his space ship in orbit around Pandora, getting to it would be extremely difficult. As Zer0 slept beside her, she tried to think of a way to infiltrate the DAHL Destroyer vessel and for that matter escape. Angel racked her brain, trying to remember anyone that may have any sort of ship they could take into space. Pandora was very behind in relationship to other planets, few outside of the large corporations have ever built a functional spacecraft. Then she remembered, she was once part of a super corporation! Her father's moon base was used to launch massive mortars and fire down loader spawners to Pandora. She was still connected to the moon base controls; if she could just get into contact with it she could teleport Zer0 and herself inside. There lay another problem, how where they going to get a stable connection with the moon base without an engineer of Gaige or Scooter's caliber. Zer0 started to wake up groggily, trying to snap himself into attention. Angel smiled, he was almost a peaceful soul while he slept, it was the only time her warrior stopped fighting. "Good morning Angel, did you sleep soundly last night, I feel ready," he said as he stood up and started to practice with his sword, which was his normal morning routine.

"I slept well, thank you for asking," she answered, even though it was a lie. Zer0 nodded to her as he continued to swing his sword with expert skill, staying balanced and light on his feet the whole time. _Maybe he might know someone_, she thought as she watched him practice. "Zer0," she asked, "would you happen to know any expert engineers outside of sanctuary?" Zer0 suddenly froze when she finished her question, dropping his katana.

"No," he answered flatly, then reached down for his sword.

Angel frowned at him and sent told Zer0 through his mind,_ Zer0, I know when you're lying to me_. Zer0 palmed his face and sighed in displeasure, this was one of the disadvantages of having a girlfriend that could read his mind. "There's a girl in Dust, her name is Ellie Hodunk, she's Scooter's sister," he grumbled, not wanting to visit the rather large woman.

"That's great," Angel exclaimed, "She can help us get to Saturn's space ship! Take me to her so we can get started." Zer0 displayed a frowny face over his helmet, trying to convince her to let him stay behind. She grabbed Zer0 by his wrist and started to drag him down the stairs towards their car.

When the two arrived at the Dust, they immediately spotted the huge junkyard that Ellie had built her garage in. Angel pointed towards it and asked, "Does she live in there?" Zer0 nodded and drove the car towards it reluctantly, he knew Angel got along with everyone, but Ellie was an… interesting girl. When they parked in front of the garage and exited the car, they noticed Ellie was nowhere to be seen, which was odd because she was pretty noticeable. Zer0 suddenly heard Angel say, "awww!" He turned around and saw a little girl with a psycho mask hanging from the side of her head and a band-aid on her nose prancing towards them. All he could think was, _oh no…_ When the little girl reached them, Angel said in a loving tone of voice, "Hello there, what's your name?"

"My name's Tina! I heard your car up front and came to see who it was, and turns out its my BFF Zer0!" Angel looked to Zer0, wondering how Zer0 could have appealed to the little girl.

"How do you know Zer0?"

"Wellll," Tina answered, "he and his friends were in the tundra express and they needed help from mua to hijack a train!"

Angel turned to Zer0, remembering when she had misled the vault hunters to hijack a train and steal Wilhelm's power core. "She's the one who helped you hijack the train?"

"Oh totally, but there was so much ISH that we had to do before we burned all the babies! They had to get Princess Snugglebutt and Felicia Sexypants' badonkadonks for me, and they were AWESOME!" Tina said as she jumped up and down. Angel was taken aback by what the little girl had said; she seemed so innocent. "Yeah so after all that butt crap with the bad man they were trying to catch, I decided to move over here. Madame Von Bartlesby's husband came uninvited to my last tea party and ruined it! It was so rude of him, but nows that I gots you back, you can show him the exit! Such rowdy men are not allowed at my tea parties."

"I cannot Tina, we need to speak to Ellie, is she around here?" Zer0 asked, trying to leave this hellhole as soon as possible.

"You mean my fat byatch sista from anotha motha," Tina asked in a ghettolicious tone of voice, surprising Angel even more, "she's in the back!" Zer0 nodded in thanks as he and Angel walked over towards the back of the garage, waving to Ellie's friend Goose when they passed him. "That little girl was… interesting," Angel whispered to Zer0.

"You thought that was bad, wait until you meet Ellie, she's Moxxi's daughter," Zer0 whispered back as the two approached the large woman. Angel stared at Ellie; this was Moxxi's daughter? It didn't make any sense, Moxxi was easily the most desired woman on Pandora, how did she give birth to… this? Ellie turned around and smiled when she saw them. "Oh hey, didn't see you there!" she said in a deep southern accent.

"You're Scooter's sister, right?" Angel asked, still trying to wrap her mind around how Ellie could possibly be Moxxi's daughter.

Ellie smiled and answered, "Sure am sugar, what can I do for you two?"

"We are in need of your engineering expertise, do you know how to build an interplanetary transmitter?"

"Sure do, my big brother taught me how right before we started dating," Ellie said proudly. Angel almost gagged at the thought; she really was a hodunk…

"If you don't mind me asking, what do y'all need it for," Ellie asked curiously as she started to gather some materials."

Zer0 decided to handle this one, "It is a secret, it is one we alone bare, I'm sorry Ellie." The large redneck just nodded then continued to get to work, throwing all the necessary gears and electronics in a pile together. Angel turned towards Zer0 and asked, "are you sure this will work." Zer0 nodded, as stupid as Ellie seemed, she an engineer of Gaige's caliber; if anyone could build it, it was her.

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"Sarah, is that you?" Axton stammered, trying to keep his tough appearance in front of Copper.

The woman smiled sadly and said, "Hello Axton…"

Axton shook his head in disbelief, "No, no that's impossible, you can't be Sarah. My wife died years ago."

"Well she's not your wife," Copper sneered, "she's mine."

Axton couldn't believe what was happening, his ex wife was still alive? DAHL had reported her dead, but maybe there was a mistake. He had to know. "How are you alive, I got a report that said you were dead," he asked Sarah, trying to hold back tears.

"Have you ever heard of playing dead, we sent you that so you wouldn't look for her," Copper answered for her with a confident smile. Axton glared at him then looked to Sarah. He couldn't believe she had betrayed him for this; he had tore himself apart because of what he thought had happened to her. He had killed so many, drank so much, and put himself through so much pain because of what had happened.

"Why would you do this to me Sarah?"

Sarah glared at him, not the reaction Axton had expected, and answered, "Because you never would have let me go! Axton, I love Allen Copper, and I was worried that if you knew I was alive you would put our lives and yours in danger! You are so pompous and arrogant; you have always only thought of yourself and now look what has happened. Your hands are covered in the blood of those who you called friends, you have become an outlaw, a criminal! Axton, you're an evil, horrible, psychopath!"

Axton felt himself being destroyed inside, like someone had torn his heart out and stomped on it. Suddenly though, he felt a fire within him, trying to escape. The bitch had stabbed him in the back and broke his heart, and all he could think about is how he could make things right between them. She didn't deserve his respect or his forgiveness, but the pain was still there. "Why did you save me then, why did you let me escape?" he asked, slowly gaining his energy back.

"She saved you because she felt bad for you, something she doesn't feel now. Sarah and I are a family, and no one, not you or your friends will tear us or this corporation apart!" Copper yelled at Axton, trying to get him angry.

"Well you're right Sarah," Axton snarled, "I am a criminal now. I've killed more then you can count, become feared among all in Pandora. I'm not the man I was when I married you, I'm much more. Now, I'm going to prove to you just how evil I've become, starting with your husband." Axton had had enough of him; it was time to end this now. He ran towards Copper in a rage with his tomahawk and swung at him. Copper blocked the attack with his knife, and then tried to stab at Axton's chest. Axton jumped back and swung his tomahawk as hard as he could into Copper's knife, knocking it out of his hands. Copper quickly recovered and punched him in the chest, then kicked him away.

Roland, with his combat knife, soon attacked Sarah. She pulled out a baton and started to defend herself, swinging it towards his side. Roland grabbed the baton and kicked her in the ribs, following up with a jab to the side of her head and swipe with his knife. Sarah jumped back and swung her baton into Roland's arm, causing him to lose his balance allowing her to deliver a swift kick to knock him back.

Meanwhile Axton blocked a punch Copper delivered, and returned with a roundhouse kick and a forceful punch to the stomach. Lt. Copper caught Axton's next punch spun around him, elbowing the commando in the side. Axton quickly ducked under a follow up kick and swiped at the lieutenant's legs, causing him to fall over. The commando then delivered a satisfying kick to Copper's temple, knocking him further away. Roland saw the dazed lieutenant standing up shakily, and decided to join in. He ducked under Sarah's baton and punched her in the stomach and then grabbed her leg and swung her into a wall. Roland then ran over to Copper and snaking his arms around both of the lieutenant's. With surprising dexterity, Roland did a back flip and slammed Lt. Copper on the ground with a loud crack.

Axton ran over, ready to squeeze life out of long enemy with his own bare hands. As Axton was about to kill off Copper, Sarah screamed, "Get away from him!" and rushed him. Axton jumped over her first swing and kicked her in the face, causing her to stumble backwards. As she started to run back towards him, Axton pulled out two tomahawks and charged her, filled with the rage of the betrayed. The two were again fiercely locked in combat, Axton swung one tomahawk at her, but she ducked under it and hit him with a baton uppercut. Axton blocked her next kick and punched her in the arm, causing her to drop her baton. Sarah tried to go in for another punch, but Axton again blocked her and jump kicked her onto the ground. She shakily got up and charged towards Axton, but he was ready to finish this. When she reached him, he slammed one of his tomahawks into her gut with all his might, causing her to double over as blood gushed freely from the deep wound. As she backed away, Axton spun and threw his last tomahawk, hitting her with devastating power in-between her eyes, causing her to fly back and slam into the wall. Her body immediately crumpled from the massive brain trauma Axton had caused, leaving just an empty shell covered in blood. "NO, SARAH!" Copper screamed as he ran over to help his downed lover. "No no no, Sarah please, you can't die! We don't have the New U to bring you back!"

"It's over Copper, tell us what Katelyn Dahl is working on," Roland demanded calmly as he walked over towards the scene.

Copper turned towards Axton with tears in his eyes and screamed, "You bastard! You murderer! You killed her, you killed my wife!"

"And I have no regrets," Axton said coldly, staring Lt. Copper straight in the eye. Copper yelled in anger and through a grenade towards them in rage. Axton and Roland quickly dived away to avoid the explosion. After the smoke from the blast cleared, the two looked from behind their cover and saw Copper carrying Sarah's body out the back door. Axton was about to follow them, when he and Roland got a call over the echo.

"Roland, we've got a huge problem," Lilith said over the echo comm..

"What's wrong," Roland asked, worried that Lilith was in trouble.

"I think we've found what Katelyn has been working on…"

**A/N: The stakes have been raised! Copper and Axton will be at each other's throats even more now, I can't wait to write the interaction between the two after what happened. Well hope you all enjoyed, remember to review and if you really liked it, leave a favorite!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Here's my twelfth chapter, hope you all enjoy! I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, I had a lot of things going on last night. Remember to leave a review, I always love feedback!**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: Yeah, I know what you mean. I just really wanted to knock Copper off his high horse.**

** Master Drummer: Count on more Axton, he plays a more crucial role in this story.**

** deadpool69: Don't worry, there will be more MoxxixMordecai to come.**

Chapter Twelve: Saturn

"Alright ya'll, this transmitter should be able to connect to any signal that's ten planets away," Ellie called to Angel and Zer0. Zer0 snapped back into reality, he had dosed off while Tiny Tina was telling them about her quest to make face gravy with a midget named Wee Man. The two walked over to her, Angel still trying to keep herself from throwing up because of Tina's story, and examined the Machine.

"Looks good," said Angel as she connected her siren powers with it, "Thank you so much Ellie."

"It's no problem, ya'll just come back and visit sometime. Without the hodunks and the zaffords constantly fighting, this place is a whole lot better," Ellie answered with a smile. Angel nodded towards Zer0 and said, "are you ready?" Zer0 mentally prepared himself for the fight to come. Once they got the key from Mr. Saturn, they could infiltrate the containment sphere and join the resistance against the DAHL Corporation. Angel closed her eyes as a white aura of energy started to surround her, causing Zer0's electronics to go a bit fuzzy. As she continued to focus, the energy grew more intense until suddenly, she opened her eyes and held out her arms. As her eyes glowed white and pulses of white energy burst from her, Angel's siren wings unfolded and expanded to full size. A bright light enveloped Zer0, as he put his arms in front of his eyes to protect them. Finally, a huge wave of energy enveloped him, pushing him back a bit as he felt his body being transported away.

When the bright light faded, Zer0 found he was in what looked like a control room. Out the observation window he could see all of Pandora, the view from above made the planet almost seem beautiful. The moon base was quite and abandoned, with only noises from the outer vacuum of space. There was a large screen in front of him, with an array of buttons that he knew nothing about, it was truly one of the coolest places Zer0 had ever been. "Pretty neat, huh?" Zer0 turned and saw Angel behind him, no longer surrounded by her powerful aura. He nodded in agreement and then turned back to enjoy the view of his planet some more. Angel walked over beside him and leaned her head on his chest, enjoying the moment with him. "This place never actually had anyone in it, Jack would always control it remotely from Pandora. Out of all the things he had built, this is the most peaceful. Ironic, isn't it?"

Zer0 looked out and suddenly saw a huge space cruiser flying to the left of them. "Is that the space ship, the one that Saturn hides in, where the key is kept?"

Angel nodded to him and turned her head towards it. "That's the DAHL Titan, their most powerful destroyer ever built. My plan is to use the moon base's transport mortars to fire ourselves inside it quickly, not giving the ship a chance to respond. They still think this base is totally abandon, so if I had to guess, DAHL has overlooked it."

Zer0 nodded in agreement, and then froze. _Transport Mortars?_ Angel obviously heard what he was thinking and let out a faint laugh. "Don't worry Zer0, these things were designed for occasions such as these. I'm sure we'll be fine, just don't miss." Zer0 let out a sigh in relief, even if he still wasn't entirely sold on the idea. Angel motioned for her to follow him so they could set up for the attack.

Once they had finished preparing their weapons, Angel and Zer0 were ready for the attack. Angel led him over to the transport mortar station, where she had told him she would be using her phase shift to activate the mortars telepathically. Zer0 entered a mortar pod and pulled down the seat bar tightly. He looked across and saw Angel doing the same, then checked his pod for any flaws. Once he saw his mortar was ready, he gave Angel the thumbs up signal. She gave him a nervous smile and said, "Should be fine, right?" Her eyes lit up white and the doors closed slowly, only allowing sight through the small observation window. Suddenly, the pod lurched, then with a deafening blast, fired into space.

Fire started to build up in front of the small window, almost scaring the brave assassin as he and Angel hurtled towards the ship. After a couple of seconds, there was a large crash and the pod came to a sudden stop. The bottom opened up, dropping Zer0 into the DAHL Titan. "Zer0, are you all right?" he heard Angel ask him over his echo communicator.

"I will be just fine, you go and cripple the ship, I will find Saturn," he whispered as he took off down the dimly lit corridor towards the command room of the ship.

Angel got off her echo device and looked around. She and Zer0 had been separated, but it didn't matter much. She needed to get to the ship's operation room where she could cause the most damage with phase shift. Angel focused herself and hacked into the ship's security grid, gaining access to the master map of the whole thing. The control room seemed to be in the middle, and she was actually not too far away. She heard some footsteps getting closer and hid around the corner and took a deep breath. It was time to do what Zer0 had taught her. When the soldier turned the corner she grabbed his gun and slammed the side of it against his nose. As he stumbled back, she swung him into the side of the hall and shot him. Angel cringed after the shot and continued to move on.

When she arrived at the door that led to the control room and his behind cover, trying to figure out how to pass by the two gaurds. She saw pulled out the gun she had taken from the dead soldier and popped up from behind her cover. She fired three rounds into one soldier, and then phase shifted the other man's gun, causing it to explode in his hands. She telepathically unlocked the door and ran through, entering the control center.

When she arrived at the main ship controls, three soldiers jumped out of hiding and surrounded her. One pulled out a handgun, but Angel kicked it out of his hand and then punched him in the gut as hard as she could. One of the other soldiers ran up behind her and tried to stab her with a knife, but she teleported behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She then flew up in the air, did a back flip, and then slammed the soldier on the ground into his own knife. Angel quickly jumped off the dead trooper and spin kicked another in the jaw, then pulled out her side arm and shot him three times in the neck with deadly accuracy. The last soldier tried to punch her, but she blocked his attack, pushing his arm to the side, and unleashed a devastating uppercut, knocking the DAHL guard out immediately. She looked around at the three downed soldiers and went back to work on the ship's systems. Angel put her hand on the control core and focused, her siren wings unfurling as white energy surged through the controls. The power on the ship flickered on and off, leaving Angel confused about what she had done. Suddenly, she started to float up in the air; Angel had turned off the gravity controls. The key card popped out of the control terminal and floated before her majestically. She grabbed the key card and pocketed it, this mission had not been as difficult as she had expected. "Angel what happened, why am I so light right now, what did you do there?" Zer0's voice asked over the intercom.

"It seems that I have turned off gravity, but you should be fine. Turn on your artificial gravity function on your boots, I think your stealth suit has one."

Back towards the front of the ship, right outside the command room, Zer0 nodded in understanding and looked through his suit functions. Options flew by his eyes until the search stopped at the artificial gravity application. Zer0 activated it and fell to the ground, feeling more in control then he had when he was floating. He approached the doors and summoned all his power to kick them down. The doors burst open and Zer0 ran in holding a pistol, shooting down every soldier in the room with speed and efficiency. Once there was only one left, he aimed his pistol and prepared to fire, but something unexpected happened. A dagger flew at him and knoced the pistol out of his hands, causing it to suspend in the air behind him.

Zer0 turned towards the mysterious soldier and saw he wasn't a soldier at all. The man was in a mechanized body suit, with a helmet that had one red lense. His armor looked a lot like Zer0's, except it was black and green instead of black and white. "Well I was waiting for you Zer0," he said impatiently, "I was starting to wonder if you had left me out." Zer0 didn't say a word, rather drew his sword and readied himself for a fight. The man didn't seem intimidated by this actioin; he actually seemed amused. "Well if you won't properly introduce yourself, I will. I am Saturn, the highest-ranking board member in the DAHL Corporation. I see you have an ion cutter energy katana, one of the only two ever made in the universe. It is quite a wonderful piece of weaponry really, I would know, I have it's sibling." Saturn drew a sword that was identical to Zer0's, except it had a dark red glow instead of blue. Zer0 had not realized there was another katana like his out there, if Saturn had mastered it like him; this was going to be a difficult fight. "Before we fight, there's something I'd like to do," Saturn sneered as the two circled each other. He pulled some sort of detenator from his pocket and clicked the button. At first it seemed like nothing had happened, but then the whole ship rumbled. "Zer0!" Angel called over the intercom, "We have a problem!"

"What was that noise from, what happened to the space ship, what's going on here?" Zer0 asked her, worried for her safety.

"The ship's engines just blew out, we're headed on a crash course to Pandora!"

0000000000000000000000000000 0000

Lilith looked at the horrible specticle before her. She couldn't believe it, this couldn't be happening. Fear ran through her body like a wild fire as she faced what could have been one of the most terrifying things she had ever seen. "Handsome… Jack?" The hunters stood in front of the once powerful dictator of Pandora as he clapped slowly and sarcastically.

"Hello kiddies, and welcome to Pandora," Jack jeered as he pulled out a pistol and loaded it.

Lilith glared at him and sneered, "You can't be alive; we saw you die."

"Anyth-th-th-th," Jack suddenly started to twitch and smoke up. Suddenly, his shoulder caught on fire as he fell to the ground in a fit of spasms and bursts of electricity. Lilith raised her eybrow in curiousity then heard Gaige scream, "Yes! Haha I rule!"

"What did you do?" Moxxi asked, leaning over the now completely fried Handsome Jack. Mordecai poked his body with his sniper rifle a couple times, and then turned to the group.

"Why would they make a Jack robot?" he asked in confusion as he walked back towards his fellow Raiders.

"My scans say this is what was being manufactured here, but why? Why would they need the parts from the New U station for this," Gaige wondered as she examined the downed robot, trying to salvage any working parts that may lead to clues. Gaige gasped as soon as she found the robot's AI core and backed away quickly. "They aren't, they couldn't be!"

"What, what are they doing?" Maya asked worriedly,

Gaige shook her head in fear, "This robot is powered with phase warp! That's why they needed the New U stations!"

"Hold on, what's phase warp?" Lilith joined in; trying to figure out what the girl genius was talking about.

"Phase warp is what allows the New U stations to pull someone's body out of time before death for reconstruction," Gaige explained, "It essentially is the energy that regulates the space time continuum. This is bad if Katelyn is using this to create robots, this could really mess up the forces of the universe!"

"Why not just use the New U station to bring him back?" asked Moxxi, trying to follow the conversation.

"New U stations reconstruct the person as they were right before death, maybe she wanted something long before we killed him," Gaige suggested. Lilith decided she should call up Roland and let him know what was happening, this whole operation could be bigger then they ever imagined.

"Hello?" Roland answered over his echo communicator

"Roland, this is Lilith, we think we've found what Katelyn has been working on,"

"What, Really?"  
"We think she's trying to bring back Handsome Jack,"

Roland dropped his communicator and froze. Axton walked over to him and yelled, "Why aren't we going after the bastard, he's getting away!"

Roland turned to him and answered, "Copper will have to wait, we've found what we were looking for."

"Really, I apologize if I'm not to enthusiastic to do anything else BUT kick Copper's ass right now. Ugh I almost had him!"

Roland put his hand on Axton's shoulders, trying to calm him down. He really felt bad for the guy; not only his wife had left him for someone as awful as Lt. Copper, but he had ended up having to kill her too. Axton kicked the wall in frustration, and then took a deep breath. Roland started heading towards the group, motioning for Axton to follow.

The two arrived at the scene and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the robot. Roland bent over it and looked through its circuitry. Cracking open the head, he pulled out the AI chip that lay inside. Gaige grabbed it out of his hand and started analyzing the chip and then said, "This chip was manufactured elsewhere. It says the DAHL archives is where this place was made."

"So we go down there, crack some heads and wreck the place," Brick suggested, slamming his fists together. Roland looked at the chip and found something strange about it. The aggressive functions usually would show on the surface of the chip, but it seemed that the manufacturer was trying to surpress Jack's violent nature. He stood up and addressed the group. "I don't know what Katelyn is planning, but she sure as hell isn't getting away with it. We are going to have to pay that archive facility a visit." The Crimson Raiders nodded in understanding as Gaige summoned Death Trap to break down the doors that trapped them in the facility. The group ran back out of the factory and started to make their way towards the archives where, hopefully, they could get some answers.

0000000000000000000000000000 00000000

"Angel get out now, take the key and escape here, I'll deal with him," Zer0 breathed calmly into the echo comm as they ship started to gain speed.

"What, no I'm not leaving you on a crashing space cruiser!" she yelled back

Mr. Saturn laughed and said, "You better listen to him, I've only left one escape pod."

"No," Angel cried, "I can't leave you…"

"Please go now Angel, I will be alright I swear, your life is worth more," Zer0 pleaded her, trying to protect Angel while he still could. Angel continued to protest, but Zer0 knew he couldn't live with himself if he let her die again. "Angel," he asked solemnly, "please go and save yourself…" The echo went silent for a bit, until Angel's voice spoke once more.

"Zer0, I love you. Please make it out alive." With those final words, Angel hung up to enter the escape pod. Zer0 turned back towards Saturn and snarled, "It's just you and me, prepare yourself Mr. Saturn, for I won't have mercy!"

Saturn's eye started to glow red as he chuckled, "I wouldn't have it any other way." The two lunged at each other and clashed in mid air, the hilts of their katanas locked against each other. As if synchronized, the two pushed back and landed on the side of the walls. Zer0 and Saturn jumped back towards each other, but this time Zer0 had a different strategy. Right before the collision, Zer0 did a backflip and kicked Mr. Saturn in the jaw, causing him to be pushed back towards closed doors. Zer0 landed on the ceiling and lunged towards the disoriented DAHL founder and made a powerful swipe with his sword as he slammed into Saturn. The power of the hit slammed both into the closed doors with such power; the doors broke open as the two barreled through.

Saturn landed on the window of the observation room and looked up to one of the metal doors, which was suspended in mid air. Standing calmly on it was Zer0 with his arms crossed. "Is that your best shot, you are all bark and no bite, you are pitiful," he taunted as the door rotated slowly, still suspended in mid air. Saturn growled and threw three knives at him, trying to silence the assassin. Zer0 pulled up on the large metal door and it flipped over, blocking the knives. With all the power he could muster, he pushed the door towards Saturn, who quickly dove out of the way. The metal hit the window and left a crack, then bounced back into the air as if it really was weightless. Zer0 propelled himself off the ceiling and brought his sword down, but Saturn quickly blocked and countered with a swift knee to the gut. Zer0 floated backwards and landed on his feet, then charged towards Mr. Saturn.

Saturn smiled and charged him as well, katana drawn and ready to strike. As the two fought on the now vertical DAHL Titan, fire started to gather around the window outside the ship. Debri floated everywhere as Zer0 and his opponent tore the room apart in the savage battle. Zer0 swept Saturn's lets and slashed his sword vertically, slamming Saturn into the ground, causing the window to crack even further under them. Saturn jumped back up and stabbed at Zer0, causing the assassin to sacrifice his balance to dodge the attack. He took this opportunity and smashed into Zer0. As Zer0 started to fall backwards, Saturn grabbed him by the foot and punched him in the stomach, causing him to hit and bounce off the window. Another crack formed with this impact, causing the window to become weaker and weaker as the fight continued.

Zer0 jumped off a floating computor terminal and kicked Saturn's chest, doing a back flip off of him after. He then lunged back towards Saturn, who was falling back more slowly than usual because of the gravity. The assassin spun sideways and kicked his opponent in the side, causing him to flip in mid air. Saturn blocked Zer0's next stab, then kicked the assassin's sword into the air and slashed Zer0 across the chest, drawing blood. He then jumped up into the air and drop kicked Zer0 into the window, causing another crack to appear on the surface.

As the ship entered Pandora's atmosphere, the pressure on the window increased exponentially, causing all the cracks caused by Zer0 and Saturn's brawl to widen. As Saturn laughed confidently as he approached Zer0 to finish him off. "So the greatest assassin in the universe is defeated by the greatest warrior, how fitting." Zer0 noticed the creaking noises the window was making, it was going to break any moment and he knew it. He looked up and saw the hole in the wall where the two doors that led to the observation deck used to be. If he could aim himself correctly, he had a chance of escaping with his life. Saturn readied his sword for the finishing blow and gloated, "Any last words?"

"Assassins never die." Zer0 slammed his fist against the window, adding on more stress then the window could take. A large crack shot through the glass as air started to shoot through the openings. Finally, the whole thing shattered, causing fire to shoot up and shooting both Zer0 and Saturn upward. Saturn flew straight into the wall and was soon impaled by a million huge shards of glass. Zer0 flew through the door, grabbing his sword on the way out. He tried to guide himself as the ship fell around him, pushing himself to get to the back of the ship.

A bright light started to shine toward the end of the corridor as he neared his escape. Zer0 shot out of the hole the explosives had left in the back engines, grabbing a DAHL flag that had somehow survived. As the ship fell into the earth, causing a fiery explosion, Zer0 unfurled the flag, which slowed his fall to a slow decent. As he parachuted down he took a couple breaths, he did not believe he had made it out of that alive. Zer0 checked himself to do a damage diagnostic, and found he was looking pretty bad. A couple pieces of glass had lodged themselves into his side; along with the huge wound that Saturn had given him.

When he landed, he collapsed on the ground and looked around. Suddenly, a little girl's head popped over him and smiled. "Oh hai! I totally didn't think yous was gonna make it out of that!" Another large figure, probably Ellie, bent over and said, "C'mon sugar lets get you fixed up."

As the woman stooped down and picked him up, Zer0 asked, "Is Angel alive, where did her escape pod land, I hope she is fine."

Ellie thought for a second, then answered, "Well I think I saw her pod land in the three horns valley, so if I had to guess she's probably already off to stop DAHL."

Zer0 sighed in relief, he would soon join their fight, but first he needed to rest. Angel would be fine.

**A/N: The three keys have been taken! Remember to leave a review and a favorite if you really liked it!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Well I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, remember to leave a review! Oh, and if my updates start to slow down a bit it's because I've got a lot of things going on, so please try to understand.**

** Terrobyte TC: Honestly, that was totally unintentional but lol.**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: Yeah I guess you could say it was a _Zer0 Gravity Fight_! (Awesome pun right?)**

** GJ115: For those of you wondering about Luke I'm just going to up and say it. I did not originally plan to bring Luke back in this sequel. That doesn't mean I won't change my mind if it fits into the story, but as of now I can't find a place to put him. I will definitely if I find the perfect moment!**

Chapter 13: Archive

Roland and Lilith sat around the fire as the others slept around them. What was left of the Crimson Raiders had to hide out in the dark ally ways of the DAHL containment structure. Their city was still trapped, they still had no answers, and they were still outnumbered. Roland for the first time started to doubt himself as a leader. Katelyn seemed to have every square covered; the archive building was guarded by security that was virtually impossible to get past. The team was discouraged, beaten, and tired, especially Axton. He hadn't said a thing after they had settled down; thoughts of Sarah probably haunted him. Roland looked to Lilith, who was shivering trying to get warmth from the fire. He wouldn't fail her again, not like he had with Jack. Lilith looked over to him and smiled, scooting closer towards him. Roland put his arm around her and said, "How did I get so lucky."

"I don't know," Lilith laughed, kissing him on the cheek.

Roland sighed and hung his head, "How are we supposed to get past the archive's security?"

Lilith leaned her head on his shoulder and answered, "I don't know, but sometimes not everything goes according to plan. Sometimes you just have to face the problem head on, now tricks, no schemes, no back up plan, just all or nothing and hope for the best."

"But going in there without a plan would be suicide!"

Lilith smiled faintly and said, "You know our plans almost never work out. Think about what happened when rushing Angel's chambers. We had an awesome plan, but it went horribly wrong."

Roland nodded, "That's true I guess. All right, then tomorrow we rush them; they'll never see that type of attack coming."

Lilith kissed him on the cheek then lay down next to him. Roland admired her perfect body; just hoping that if anyone made it out it would be her. She was right though. There was nothing he could think of to get passed the perfectly accurate hidden turrets, so the Raiders would have to just hope for the best. Roland lay down beside Lilith and prayed for their safety and for luck; they were going to need it.

The next morning, Roland woke up to find that his team was already ready for action. Salvador held out his hand and pulled him up, then patted him on the back. "Lilith told us about your crazy ass plan amigo," he said, "and I would just like to say… I have never agreed with one of your tactics more in my life."

Maya shook her head and sighed, "We are all going to die,"

"With that attitude we are!" Brick yelled as he readied himself for the attack. He tossed Roland a gun and smiled. "No true badasses die of old age."

"Spoken like a champion," laughed Mordecai as he loaded his sniper rifle. Roland was surprised with how well they were taking his idea. He himself thought the plan was stupid, yet his whole team was willing to follow him into hell to help. Moxxi threw him a clip and pumped the shotgun she was holding. "Lets get this done," she said in the best tough voice she could muster. The Raiders snuck over towards the archive, where they spotted security bots, but not the turrets. "Mordecai, do you see the turrets?"

"No," Mordecai answered Roland as he looked through the scope of his rifle, "I think they may be hidden in the ground or roof." _Well, it's now or never_, Roland thought as he readied his assault rifle. "Three, two, one… ATTACK!" The Crimson Raiders exploded from behind cover and started to charge towards the facility led by none other then Salvador. The crazed man gunned down droves of robots and soldiers as he laughed maniacally, allowing the group to advance.

As he continued to spray everywhere, the DAHL troops started to regroup and form a legitimate defense. Suddenly, a car burst out of the garage and swerved towards Salvador, who was still unleashing hell upon the soldiers. Lilith saw it coming and screamed to him, "Salvador, look out!" Salvador turned and went wide eye as he saw the truck coming towards him. He immediately threw both of his guns in the air and readied for the impact. Lilith closed her eyes and turned away in horror, waiting for the awful splat noise to come. For some reason though, all she heard was the sound of screeching tires and the smell of burning rubber. She turned back and saw Salvador holding the car by its hood, stopping it dead in its tracks as it tried to run him over. With a loud battle cry, Salvador shoved the hood down, ripping off the bumper and sending the car flying over him. He threw the bumper at a turret that had just popped out of the ground, giving the team new hope as he continued to lead the charge. Roland and Axton both threw out their turrets and started to gun down robots, as Bloodwing Jr swooped down and clawed at the distraught soldiers.

More robots started to spawn as the Raiders fought on, pushing forward closer to the danger zone. Maya threw a slag vortex that pulled in a group of robots and soldiers and covered them in the disgusting purple liquid. Lilith took the opportunity and went into phase walk, sprinting across the battlefield towards the slagged masses and unleashed a devastating phase blast, which disemboweled all of them in a bloody explosion. A badass DAHL soldier jumped down from the roof and drew a rocket launcher and aimed it towards Lilith. Just as he was about to fire, something hit the front of his launcher, causing it to miss fire and hit a group of DAHL bots. The soldier looked up and saw the projectile that hit his gun. A grenade floated above him as if in slow motion, then detonated. A small implosion sucked him towards it and then it erupted in flames, leaving a burnt corpse of what was once a soldier. Roland smiled at his work, then motioned for the team to continue towards the doors.

Gaige summoned Death Trap, which shot down jet troopers that flew towards their comrades, trying to stop the attack. The giant robot turned towards a group of on coming soldiers and leaned forwards menacingly with its claws drawn. The DAHL troop immediately dropped their guns and turned towards each other. "Bail?" asked one of them. "Bail," another one agreed, and with that the soldiers turned and ran for their lives. Brick patted Gaige on the back proudly as she laughed her head off triumphantly.

The Raiders continued towards the entrance until suddenly the sound of gears whirring and the clicks of guns stopped them in their tracks. "Well shit," Mordecai breathed quietly as they looked around at the turrets surrounding them. "This… This is not good," Axton said nervously, dropping his gun slowly. Just as the turrets were about to let loose their arsenal, a white light shot down from the sky. When the light touched down, a shockwave burst out and caused all the turrets to spin around violently then explode. All the DAHL bots stopped in their tracks, put their guns up to their power cores, and committed mass robotic suicide. The group covered their eyes as the lights of malfunctioning machines flashed before their eyes. Finally, when the flashes died down, the team lowered their hands to see what had happened. Before them, floated Angel, smiling sweetly down towards them.

"Angel, you're here!" Gaige yelled, running over and giving the siren a big hug. Maya soon followed behind her, giving Angel a fist bump. Lilith walked over and gave Angel a hug. "It's good to have you back," Lilith said, causing Angel to tear up a bit.

"It's so good to be back." Roland walked over and shook Angels hand, followed by the rest of the raiders. "As happy as I am to see you, mind if I ask where Zer0 is?" Roland asked with a smile on his face, ready to see the assassin again. Angel's smile suddenly dropped as she fell to the ground. The group stood confused for a bit, then realized what had happened. "He's alright, isn't he?" Axton asked, trying to get Angel to drop what he thought was an act. Angel shook her head solemnly, trying to keep herself from crying. The full realization of what had happened hit her; Zer0 was gone forever. They no longer had the New U station; it was over. Her love was had sacrificed himself for her, and there was nothing she could do. Lilith hung her head in respect for their fallen comrade, along with all of the Raiders. As they raised their heads, Roland broke the silence. "We have to continue the fight, for Zer0. Even if we have lost one, we still need to stop Katelyn."

"I agree, we'll pay our respects to him once the mission is finished," Maya agreed as she picked up her pistol and loaded it. Angel took a deep breath and gained some of her composure. "I've managed to open up travel to the containment sphere, so I brought some friends."

"Really, who?"

"That would be me," called a woman's voice with a British accent. The Crimson Raiders turned and saw Captain Scarlett, along with Sir Hammerlock and Scooter. "Oh no, no no no!" Maya said, backing away from Scarlett.

"What, what's wrong?" Angel asked, with a confused look on her face.

"She's going to stab us in the back, just like she did with the lost treasure!"

Scarlett sighed, "I knew this was going to come up with one of you. Look, I promise if there is no treasure involved I won't stab you in the back, plus I've kinda, err, integrated with you group."

"What," Maya asked, now equally confused as Angel, "how have you done that?"

"Ahaha, its mi novia!"

Maya turned and saw Salvador running over towards Scarlett. The pirate smiled and bent over to kiss the gunzerker on the cheek. "Hello honey," she said to him as Salvador smiled widely.

"Chica, I slay all these pendejos for you!" Salvador proclaimed proudly to Scarlett. Scarlett gasped in delight, and then hugged him tightly. "You know what, now I see it. He's fucking crazy, she's fucking crazy, it's a match made in heaven," Axton cracked as Maya, Lilith, and Roland stared in shock. Sir Hammerlock marched over towards the Raiders and gave them a salute, "I am ready to fight, gruesome revenge, HO!"

"I'm glad you could all join us," Roland thanked the four, "but we really need to get going before Katelyn or Copper decides to send reinforcements.

Brick nodded and cracked his knuckles, "Then allow me to give the door a knock." The mountain of muscle walked over towards the door and reared back. With one powerful punch, he broke down the metal doors, which flew into two unsuspecting guards. The group filed in and looked around, the place looked almost like a big data library. Shockingly, the place was pretty much unguarded. There was not a single person in sight, except for the two dead guards. "Angel, can you use phase shift to look through all these files and find the one's related to Katelyn and Jack?" Roland asked, lowering his gun.

"Wait, what does this have to do with Jack," said Angel, trying to figure out what she had missed.

"We believe Jack may have something to do with Katelyn's pla…" Roland was cut off by a loud ripping noise. Suddenly, the universe seemed to shake violently, causing purple slag orbs to appear in random places. When the group started to stand up, Gaige gasped at the sight of the slag orbs. "Oh no, she's messing with the phase warp. This much damage to the timeline will cause the universe to tear itself apart!"

"Angel, we need those files now!" Roland yelled as the slag balls started to burst around them, covering the whole group. Angel closed her eyes and focused her powers, shifting through all the files in the library. Finally, she opened her eyes and told them, "There are to many files here, I can't locate the specific one. While I can't say exactly where it is, I do have a general idea of where it could be. Angel pointed towards three of the nine doors that surrounded them and continued, "Down one of these doors is the file containing what we need. I say we split up and start looking."

Roland nodded, then turned to the raiders. "Well you heard her, we've gotta split up. Mordecai, Moxxi, Lilith, and I will go down the middle path. Salvador, Scarlett, Gaige, Axton, and Maya will go down the left one. That leaves Scooter, Hammerlock, Angel, and Brick to go down the last one. You know your job everybody; keep in touch through the echos. Let's go!" Everyone ran towards their assigned doors and began the search for the file.

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Axton led his group through the winding halls of the archive, searching for the file. On the sides of the halls and rooms, disks and drives were neatly organized and stored. Gaige used her arm to actively scan the walls so they did not end up missing the file by accident. As Axton walked, he mentally prepared himself for when he saw Copper again. He couldn't let himself loose control, not when Maya was with him. If she got hurt, he would never forgive himself. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulders and turned to see Maya right next to him.. "Oh, hey Maya," he sighed dejectedly.

"I heard about what happened with Sarah," she said, "and I just want you to know that I'm here for you." Axton smiled at her and thanked her; she was truly the love of his life. Now that he knew Sarah had been a lie all along, he could move on with Maya, right? But something was still bugging him; maybe it was that he had killed Sarah when he had really wanted closure over everything. "What are you two talking about," Axton heard Scarlett ask as she caught up to them.

"Ummm, nothing Scarlett. Say I've been meaning to ask, why Salvador?" Maya asked the pirate queen.

"Oh, are we gossiping? Ooo how exciting, the other girls never let me do this in school. Maybe it was because I ended up killing them all but one shouldn't hold a grudge!" Scarlett squealed in excitement, obviously not phased at all by their surroundings. She thought back for a second, then answered Maya's question, "I always suspected he had his eye on me, but I never really ended up going into it because of the whole 'I'm gonna stab you in the back' thing. But once you all defeated me and stole Captain Blade's treasure, he actually came back and did the sweetest thing I've ever seen. He gave me part of the treasure." If Axton had been drinking coffee, he would have spewed it all over the place. Maya was equally shocked, trying to put together how that story made sense. "He… shared his loot with you?" Axton stuttered, "He never shares! That's like his number one rule, right up there with the 'if you mention Sigmund Freud I rip your balls off' rule!"

"I know, but I figured once all this is over, he can help me lead my band of pirates," Scarlett mused, thinking of the all the riches she could obtain with Salvador's hunting expertise by her side. Axton couldn't believe that Salvador had actually done something…kind. It was like the world had flipped on itself, but then again two people had come back to life and his long lost wife turned out to be alive, so this year was pretty weird overall.

Gaige suddenly stopped and said, "Hold on for a second guys, I need to check something." She bent over and opened one of the drawers, pulled out an electronic file, and then plugged it into her arm. A holoscreen appeared over her wrist, displaying her own Death Trap blue prints. "Why do they have my designs for Death Trap here?" she asked, slightly annoyed that yet another person was ripping off her idea. Axton shrugged as she pocketed the drive and continued down the corridor with them.

After a long walk through many hallways and down many stairs, they reached a large circular room. It was completely dark except for a couple dim lights on the ceiling. Axton, Salvador, Gaige, Scarlett, and Maya started to walk around, trying to find this important file. Suddenly, two large lights turned on, revealing a large, metallic figure. Axton looked up in terror as the thing started to rise up, its body slowly gaining more life. "Gaige, I think I know why they needed your Death Trap design.

"Why is tha…" Gaige then saw the giant robot and her jaw dropped. The other three all turned and pointed their gun towards the green and black robot that began to hover in the air. "Do you all like it? It's the latest DAHL technology," a voice said from the cockpit of the robot. Axton immediately recognized who it was. "Copper! First you make you wife fight your battles, and now you're going to make a robot fight them?" he taunted, trying to anger the Lieutenant. The robot brought its hand up and five blue energy claws slid out of its fingers. It slammed the claws into the ground and clawed over towards the commando, who rolled away just in time. "DON'T EVEN SPEAK OF HER! You killed my wife Axton, just because you couldn't have her!"

Axton laughed and put up a tough front, trying to keep Copper from getting to him. He yelled back, "You think that's why I killed her? She led me on for many years, cheated on me, and then the bitch tried to kill me! What I did was for justice and self defense!" The robot swiped again at him, tearing up the ground as its claws ripped through the floor. As the robot tore up the room trying to kill Axton and the rest, Copper screamed, "Hasn't anyone told you not to mess with a man with nothing left to loose!"

"Funny," replied Axton as he sidestepped away from a laser beam and fired at the robot, "someone has told me that before. That man is now six feet under and in pieces!"

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Mordecai ran ahead, following his prey. He and the rest of his group had spotted what looked like a chief scientist and had stalked him for quite a while. In the end, they decided Mordecai would follow him more closely as the rest tagged along further back so they wouldn't be caught. He jumped from shelf to shelf of the library of files, breathing quietly as if he was hunting endangered species. The scientist seemed to be totally unaware of his presence, so Mordecai got a little closer. "What's the status on our target?" Roland's voice whispered over the echo comm as the hunter dove onto another shelf.

"He's just walking around so far, I don't know if… wait hold on." Mordecai hung up and watched as the scientist swiped a key card in a nearby file shelf and a large door opened. Mordecai followed the man through quietly, swinging on the top of the doorframe up onto the metal rafters above.

The room he was now in was a long and wide hall with a bridge walkway in the middle and huge storage vaults on the walls. Below the bridge was a huge drop, so Mordecai decided it would be in his best interest to stay over the bridge. He continued to stalk the scientist closely until two huge DAHL soldiers soon joined the man. As he took a better look at the soldiers, he noticed they were goliaths. Each was carrying a huge mini gun in one hand as if it was a pistol. The scientist continued to walk down the walkway until he stopped at another large open door. He turned away from it and looked out in the direction where Mordecai was hidden. "Mr. Reginald, would you kindly rebuff our intrusive guest," he asked one of the goliaths. Reginald grunted and pulled out a huge machete and spun it around in his hand. He then threw it with great power straight towards Mordecai. Before he could react, the machete lodged itself into his shoulder, causing him to fall of his loft onto the floor behind one of the support beams.

The rest of his team obviously heard this over the echo comm, because in less then a second, they were all over him. Moxxi started to frantically reassure herself, "you'll be okay Mordecai, just hang in there, you'll be alright!" The scientist waved to the two goliaths and walked through the open door. The goliaths nodded to each other and started to unload on the Crimson Raiders, forcing them into cover with constant fire. "We have to find a way past them," Roland yelled to Lilith, who was behind the pillar across from him."

"I can't use phase blast on them, I don't think it'll kill em!" she called back, shielding her face from the dust from the goliaths' constant fire. Roland threw a turret box out towards them, but Reginald just fired towards the box and destroyed it before it could hit the ground. How where these guys so accurate? Roland looked over to Moxxi, who was behind the same pillar as Mordecai. "Move up!" he commanded, motioning his orders to her. Moxxi peaked her head out, then pulled it back in quickly as a volley of bullets flew right by her.

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll stay alive," she remarked sarcastically as she went back to tending to Mordecai. Lilith threw out a grenade, but the other goliath shot it out of the air just as his friend Reginald had. "Damn it, how are we supposed to get past them!" she cried out in frustration, trying to think of a way by. Roland held his gun out from cover and started to fire at the two, but soon found that his gun had been shot right out of his hands. The goliaths laughed stupidly as they continued to unload on the group, angering them even more. "How much ammo do these two have?" Moxxi yelled over to Roland. Roland just shrugged in return and looked around, trying to find something that could help them. When he looked back from out of cover, he saw the doors were closing; they were loosing their window of opportunity and fast.

Just then, he started to hear a strange tapping noise. It sounded kind of like footsteps, but there was no one there. Suddenly, something ran past him, the light bending in a strange way around it so it was practically invisible. One of the bullets skimmed it, because the invisibility started to fail even more, flickering on and off quickly sometimes. Roland couldn't make out a figure, but saw it was moving with incredible speeds. It jumped over and dived under the goliath's spray as the two tried to stop the unknown attacker. Once the thing had reached the two goliaths, it jumped over them in a graceful spin flip motion. Mid-air, the creature's invisibility failed one last time, revealing it to be a masked man with a grey and white suit with a large red zero on it. Roland grinned as he saw his friend dive through the closing doors right before they could shut, securing that they had at least one man on the inside. Now they just had to deal with the goliaths.

When the doors completely shut, Lilith saw Mordecai getting up shakily. He grabbed the machete by the handle and yanked it out of his shoulder, revealing a large bloody gash. "Time to return the favor ass holes," he growled as he flipped the machete in his hand, holding it by the tip of its blade. Mordecai took a second to aim, then threw it out towards the goliaths. The machete spun in the air and quickly lodged itself right into Reginald's fore head. The goliath fell to the ground dead; distracting the other goliath and giving the others a chance to attack. Moxxi dove out of cover and unloaded on the thing with her SMG, causing the goliath to catch on fire. It wailed and swatted as it stumbled around trying to put out the fire, finally falling off the edge of the bridge. "Well what do we do now," asked Lilith, "I'm pretty sure Zer0 got in, but we're kind of stuck."

"I'm sure we can find a way, lets just back track and see if we missed anything," Roland answered as he began to walk back out of the large storage room. The group soon followed him, Lilith tagging along right beside.

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Zer0 followed the narrow hallway towards whatever goal he was trying to reach. As he walked, he heard Angel speak to him telepathically, _Zer0, you're alive! I thought I had lost you!_

_I told you Angel, I could escape the space ship, what are we here for?_ Zer0 responded as he reached the end of the hallway.

_Apparently the other Raiders have found something connecting Handsome Jack with Katelyn Dahl_

_What how can that be, Jack was from Hyperion, wouldn't she hate him?_ Zer0 thought as he approached the door that led to the next room. He hacked into the door lock, which caused the door to flash green and slide open. When he entered the room he froze, it was like a nightmare. Was this was Katelyn Dahl was working on? _Oh my God..._ he heard Angel say in his head. Zer0 tried to comprehend what he was seeing, but it was almost impossible. Standing in front of him, were numerous Handsome Jacks. One of them stepped out of the group and cracked its knuckles. "Hello kiddo, welcome to your death." Zer0 pulled out a pistol and aimed it towards them, stepping back as the crowd approached him. "Don't know how you live, but you're going back to hell, right where you belong!"

**A/N: Well Zer0's in trouble now, but so is Gaige, Axton, Maya, Salvador, and Scarlett! So is everyone else! Remember to leave a review and if you really liked it, a favorite!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Here's the fourteenth chapter, I hope you all enjoy! Remember to leave a review, each one is appreciated!**

** Florida: Ummm... Good?**

** BubbyGum24: Yeah I had just finished the DLC and thought exactly what Axton said, he's fucking crazy, she's fucking crazy, it makes sense!**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: I'm glad you appreciated my cheesy pun, I worked very hard on it (3.5 seconds). As for the Jenkins tactic, I figured it was high time I made them through sense into the wind.**

Chapter 14: A Million to One

"I'm about to fuck your shit up!" all the Jacks yelled in unison as they charged towards Zer0. Zer0 started unloading on the group with his pistol, killing some of them before they could even reach him. As he fired away, he heard Angel yell in his head _Zer0 look out!_ Zer0 turned and saw one of the Jacks rearing back to punch his lights out. He pulled out his sword and spin slashed him, jumping into the air as he did so. The assassin landed on one of the robot's shoulders then jumped to another, kicking it down powerfully. As the Jack slid on its back from the force of the kick, Zer0 landed on his chest and stood on the Jack bot as he slid across the floor. Four other robots jumped towards Zer0, trying to knock him down. Zer0 swung his sword and knocked one of them back and then turned to roundhouse kick the other away. He then stabbed his sword through the Jack he was standing on and swung around it, kicking back the other two Jacks while they were still in the air and launching himself towards the crowd.

Zer0 kicked off one of the robot's chest and spun around, knocking back a group of Jacks with his sword. One Jack tried to punch at him, but he ducked and punched the robot in the stomach, then finished by cutting it in half. He turned and countered another's punch with a kick to the arm and blocked another's kick with his katana. Zer0 swept at its feet, causing it to trip, and then swung his sword in an brutal uppercut motion, launching it into the air. Zer0 grabbed it by the feet and swung it around, knocking back five of the robots surrounding him, and then throwing it into the wall. One of the Jack bots ran at Zer0, and knocked the sword out of his hands when he tried to stab it. Zer0 blocked its next punch and kicked it in the side, following with two quick punches to the chest and one powerful uppercut. He turned and grabbed another's arm as it tried to elbow him and twisted it, throwing the robot into a large storage crate.

The crate burst and out spilled power cores that had not yet been installed into robots. Zer0 kicked one up into his hands and looked at it. On the core, it said "Warning: highly explosive". He kicked another into his hands and threw it towards the charging battalion of Jacks, then the other towards where his sword was. The first explosion wiped out a huge number of the robots; the second sent his sword flying towards him. Another Jack attacked him from behind, trying to punch him in the gut. Zer0 sidestepped the attack and swung his heel into the robot's face, causing it to stagger back a little. As another one charged, Zer0 caught his sword and slashed through its circuitry, then bicycle kicked its upper half into another Jack.

Zer0 continued to fight ferociously as more and more Handsome Jacks closed in on him; kicking, punching, and cutting them all down. As he fought though, he started to feel fatigue; he couldn't keep this up much longer. Zer0 slammed his foot into one of their chests, turned and cut off another's arm. He jumped over a one charging Jack and spin kicked it into another robot, knocking the two down violently. As he turned to catch another robot's punch, one slammed him in his side, knocking the assassin across the room. Zer0 got up slowly, panting heavily. _Angel_, he communicated,_ I need you to use phase shift to divert all power in my suit to physical functions_.

_Hold on Zer0, why do you_…

"Just do it!" Zer0 suddenly felt a surge of power coursing through him, Jack would not win; he could not win. Zer0 burst into a sprint towards the group, hitting speeds over 95 mph with his sword drawn and his mind ready. The crates stacked around the room and the multiple Jacks seemed to fly by as he boosted through. Once Zer0 reached the first robot, he cut it straight in half, lunging towards the next one and gaining speed as he did. He jump kicked straight through one of the Jack's face, moving quickly into his next attack. Zer0 stopped suddenly in the middle of the group and started to fight them at lightning speed.

One Jack tried to punch him, but he dodged and began punching it in the stomach and finished with a powerful diagonal slash, knocking it into its allies in less then a second. He turned and cut off another's arm, then stabbed through it. Zer0 proceeded to swing the impaled Jack around, knocking back most of the crowd. As the assassin fought, he saw read warnings on his visor display, telling him that he was losing power to his vitals. Angel screamed to him telepathically, _Zer0 stop, you're going to fast! You're over working yourself!_

Zer0 wouldn't stop though, he had to keep fighting, had to keep winning. A group of Jacks started to charge him, trying to stop the assassin's massacre. He ran towards them with his sword drawn. Zer0 sliced through one, then another, again gaining more and more speed. A group of three Jacks charged him all at once, but he disposed of them with a devastating spin move. Suddenly, as he ended the spin, one of the Jack bots caught him off guard, punching him straight in the jaw. All the speed and momentum he had now worked against him, sending Zer0 barreling towards the wall. When the assassin hit the wall, he felt like his bones shattered. He had actually lost; he had failed to kill Handsome Jack. As Zer0 tried to get up, the army of Jacks surrounded him. "I don't want you seeing my daughter any more," one said with a smile as it walked over to finish him off. _Get up Zer0, get up!_ Angel yelled to him as he tried desperately to stand and fight. He was to weak though, Zer0 was completely spent. "There are too many," he said, "I can't beat him… I can't win this fight." Handsome Jack picked him up by the neck and held a gun up to his head, smiling as he did so. This was the end.

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"Guys, we have to head back, Zer0's in trouble!" Angel yelled, turning back towards where they had come. Everyone tilted their heads in confusion at what she had just said. Hammerlock spoke up and said, "If I do recall correctly you had told us that the old chap had bitten the dust. Died in a space ship crash you said."

"Well I don't know how, but he survived. He's stumbled upon Katelyn Dahl's project and is in danger!" she exclaimed, trying to get the group to follow her back towards Zer0. Brick put his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"Angel, if I know anything about Zer0, it's that he'll make it out somehow, plus Roland and the others can't be far behind."

Angel sighed and nodded in agreement, she hated to leave Zer0 but she had a mission also. She could sense the file was closer as they continued down the huge spiral staircase. Brick led the group as he was the highest-ranking officer among them. Scooter followed close behind, holding a double barrel Jacobs shotgun, a very reliable weapon. Angel continued to point them in the right direction as they began to approach forked pathways and different stairs, leading to the inner networks of the Archives. Files flashed by her eyes as each sent her information about DAHL's activities and Katelyn's secrets.

Strange facts popped up in her head, such as how Katelyn really has black hair. More facts flew by as she mentally rummaged through the different files; Katelyn was born on Eden 7, Katelyn is the Queen of Hearts, Handsome Jack was… Angel froze when she sensed the words and turned towards one of the file storage units lodged in the wall. She wasn't able to get a full reading from it for some reason, but whatever Katelyn was doing, this file had something to do with it. "Brick, I think I've found it," she said as she pointed him towards the file tube. Brick nodded and walked over towards it, grabbing the file tube by its handle.

He pulled the cylinder out of the wall and placed it on the ground carefully. Scooter walked over and deactivated any anti-theft features that may have been dormant inside the cylindrical storage unit. Finally, Angel popped the top of the tube and out popped a strange looking chip, glowing blue with electricity. "I'll handle this one," Hammerlock told them, taking the chip and plugging it into his robotic arm. A holoscreen appeared out in front of them, displaying the information in the file. "Katelyn Dahl and John Prometheus met in December, 3411," Angel began to read, "The two of them became instant friends, sharing an interest in ancient alien technology. John was not CEO of the Hyperion Corporation at the time, but a mere Technician with a PHD in digi-engineering." Angel paused for a minute and looked back at what she had just read. "Strange, I thought she had met my father after he became president of Hyperion…"  
"Well keep reading," urged Scooter, wanting to hear the rest of the story.

Angel nodded and continued, "The two eventually began a relationship together that would end in marriage, although Katelyn did end up keeping her maiden name. In August, 3416, the two had a child which they named…" Angel dropped the scroll and scrambled backwards as the thing was going to explode. She breathed heavily, trying to take in what she had just read. Katelyn Dahl, she couldn't be her mother, her mom disappeared long ago. Brick walked over and picked up the scroll, reading what he had heard again, just to make sure. "Well I'll be damned," he said in amazement, "Angel you come from a powerful family."

It all made sense now; she had inherited her siren powers from her mother, Katelyn. A sudden rage filled her as she realized what this meant. The only parent she had left had knowingly betrayed her and tried to kill her, her own daughter! "You gonna be alright slab?" Brick asked, trying to calm Angel down. For the first time, she was starting to lose control. Not one, but two family members had betrayed her, stabbed her in the back, and left her for dead. Angel's siren wings emerged as her eyes glowed white furiously, sending out pulses of energy. Each pulse caused the electronics around them to fail. "I CAN'T BELIEVE MY OWN MOTHER TRIED TO KILL ME! THIS IS ALL HER FAULT, SHE LEFT MY FAMILY, SHE CAUSED DAD TO GO INSANE, AND NOW SHE'S GOING TO MAKE THE UNIVERSE COLLAPSE ON ITSELF! THAT… THAT… that…" Angel floated towards the ground and started to cry, "Why, why, why…"

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"Die!" Copper screamed as he commanded the giant Death Trap like robot to crush them. Maya dove under cover and looked around for something she could use. A giant storage crate was across from her, maybe that could be of use. The siren focused her powers on the crate to lift it up and then slam it into Copper's robot. The crate knocked the robot back some, but didn't really phase it. Its claws came down quickly and smashed Maya's cover, causing her to fall back a couple feet.

As the robot raised its other hand to try and finisher, an explosion erupted on it. Copper turned the DT bot towards the explosion and saw Salvador wielding two rocket launchers and firing a barrage of missiles towards him. The robot aimed its shoulder-mounted cannon and fired a huge laser, which Salvador barely escaped. Maya phase locked the robots arm as it readied a punch, letting Axton fire at its weak joints. Sparks flew as the commando let loose his lead fury, but Maya couldn't hold it for long. The robot swung its arm towards Axton, trying to crush him. Right before Axton was about to be squashed, Gaige's Death Trap caught its copy's fist and swung the robot into a wall. "Can't you ass hats come up with your own ideas?!" Gaige yelled at Copper as she and Death Trap began firing at the robots weak joints.

"Damn it, stay out of this, all of you! My beef is with Axton, if you let me kill him I don't give a shit what you all do!" Copper yelled as the robot swung at Axton, trying to cut hin into ribbons.

"Fat chance," Maya yelled back, "I'm not turning in my own boyfriend!" Axton made the robot slam its fists into the ground, causing a shockwave that knocked all of them back. Before she could get up, the robot grabbed Maya and pulled her up where Copper could look her in the eyes. "I'm going to make Axton suffer the same way he made me. I'm going to kill what he loves most on this planet!" Just as the robot was about to crush her, Copper heard someone whistle. He turned around and saw Axton standing up on one of the high construction platforms with a gun with a rather large bayonnet. "It's payback time," he said with a grin, running towards the robot.

Axton jumped off the platform and on to the control cockpit where Copper was sitting. The robot dropped Maya and started to try to swat Axton off, but before its hand could reach him, it was blown if its hinges by none other then Salvador. Maya looked up in horror as Axton held on for dear life as the robot tried to swing him off. Finally, Axton brought up the butt off his gun, and with all the power he could muster, smashed the protective glass. He jumped in and ran towards Copper, but the Lieutenant was ready.

The two locked into combat, fighting as viciously as they could. The robot swung out of control as the two fought, for no one was controlling it. "Get down everybody!" yelled Scarlett as it flailed into the sides of the rooms, bringing the whole place down. Copper lunged at Axton with a kick, but he blocked it quickly. The commando countered with a swift jab to the face and then an elbow to the gut. Lt. Copper doubled over, but quickly recovered, throwing three heavy punches at Axton. All three hit him across the face, causing his vision to go blurry a bit. Copper reared back for one last hit, trying to knock his rival off the robot and onto the ground. Axton ducked under Copper's punch and tackled him.

He proceeded to wail on the Lieutenant's face, screaming with each punch, "THIS is for the Raiders, THIS is for sanctuary, and THIS is for Maya!" Copper suddenly grabbed one of Axton's punches and flipped him over, turning the tables of the fight. The Lieutenant smiled as he started to choke the life out of the commando. "Well this is the end of this little rivalry, isn't it Axton," he snarled with a smirk. Axton felt the breath leaving him, his body growing weaker with every second.

As Copper grappled his neck, he spotted a stray cord from the robot's broken controls. Axton reached over and grabbed it as the robot lurched against towards a wall, slamming into it violently. The wall burst open, causing Axton and Copper to fly out the window and towards the ground. As they burst throw the cockpit, he wrapped the wire around the Lieutenant's neck before he could react. Axton held on to Copper's foot as they fell until they jerked to a sudden stop. The commando looked up and saw Copper gagging, desperately clawing at the cord that was choking him. Axton held on as the Lieutenant kicked his last, and then went limp. Copper was right; it was over. Axton took a deep breath as he took in the fact that he had finally done it, the dog was dead. Maya's head peaked out from the hole in the wall and looked down. When she saw Copper hanging by his neck she gasped, "You did it… you killed him…"

Axton started to climb up the cord slowly, still in pain from all of his wounds, "yeah I can't believe I did it."

Maya gave him a hand and pulled him up on top of the downed robot. Right when he got up, she embraced him and kissed him passionately, the adrenaline from the fight still pumping through her. The two released the kiss and looked into each other's eyes. "If you two are done snogging, we should probably get back to Roland!" Scarlett called as she and Salvador started to leave. Gaige went over and kicked the downed robot and muttered to herself about everybody ripping her off. Axton held Maya's hand as the two followed their group; finally things were looking up for him.

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"So long Zer0," one of the Jack bots said as he raised the assassin in the air. Zer0 readied himself for the inevitable; he was too spent to cheat death this time. As the Jack raised its pistol to his head, sparks and fire suddenly flew from its stomach. Zer0 looked down and saw a gaping hole in the robot's stomach as it collapsed and dropped him. "That's payback jack ass!" Zer0 looked up and saw Roland, Lilith, Moxxi, and Mordecai standing over him.

"Hello my good friends, it's nice of you all to show, thanks for saving me there," Zer0 said gratiously.

Lilith smiled and gave him the thumbs up, "No man left behind!"

"There was a strange pulse that knocked out the door's electronics, causing it to open just enough for us to slip in," explained Mordecai as he loaded his rifle and aimed it towards the Jacks. Zer0 stood up shakily and pulled out his sword, trying to gather the energy to finish this fight. Roland pulled out his Tarantula assault rifle and threw down his Scorpio turret, readying himself for a fight. Lilith's siren wings burst from her back as her eyes and tattoos started to glow red with power. Moxxi loaded her smg, and then aimed it menacingly towards the Jacks, ready to wreck her ex.

"ATTACK!" yelled Roland, charging forward and clubbing one of the Jack bots in the head with his gun. Everyone soon followed, using their superior skills to outmatch the robots' numbers. Zer0 jumped forward and cut three of them down, soon followed by Lilith, who phased over towards the middle of the group and let loose a devastating phase blast. Roland's turret gunned down hundreds of bots as they ran towards him, trying to finish off the soldier. Roland tossed a grenade over towards five Jacks. Mordecai turned and shot the grenade in mid air, causing the explosion to reach its maximum blast radius.

Moxxi kicked one of the Jacks in the face, stabbing through his head with her razor sharp stilettos. The harlot then swung her foot around, knocking the Jack into eight of its copies. Zer0 sliced through the masses with new strength, ducking and avoiding every attack that came at him. He swept his sword powerfully, knocking three Jacks into the air. Before they could hit the ground, Mordecai shot one bullet, which went through the side of each's head. Roland soon followed by jump kicking the three Jacks into two other charging robots who were trying to get the drop on Lilith. Lilith let loose another phase blast as she jumped back into their dimension in a flying punch, knocking down nine robots. The five continued to fight until there were no more Jacks left standing. Millions of bullet shells surrounded them, along with the bodies of their numerous adversaries. Roland breathed heavily and smiled, "That felt really good."

"Yeah, honestly I wish I could kill the bastard even more," Lilith joked as the Raiders regained their breath. Zer0 looked around at all the carnage they had caused; he had enjoyed fighting as a team again. "Why would she make so many Jack's? Isn't one enough?" Moxxi asked as she poked one of them with her gun.

"Maybe each of them was somehow imperfect, they might all be failed results," Mordecai suggested.

"That's exactly what it is," everyone heard Angel say angrily over the intercom.

Roland noticed the tone of voice and said, "Angel, are you all right?"

"No, she's trying to bring back the Jack from before all this. Before he was a power hungry bastard, when he was actually my father…"

Gaige's voice suddenly piped up over the intercom, "No, that's impossible. You can't bring back someone's personality from long before death. You would need something of incredible power to do so, power that I don't think exists; other then the vault key off course."

"But we have the vault key, it's hidden away and safe. Why is she even trying?" Lilith asked, trying to think back to where they had placed the key.

"There is one other artifact that has just as much energy as the key," Roland spoke up as he started to look more worried by the second. Everyone turned to him and gave him a curious look. Roland nodded and continued, "if you can remember a while back, before the warrior, we came across something else that could generate a huge amount of power."

Lilith gasped when she realized what he was referencing, "you don't mean…"

"Yeah, I think Katelyn Dahl has the lamp."

**A/N: Well I hope you all enjoyed the chapter (even if Copper's death was a bit brutal). Remember to review and favorite!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Here's my fifteenth chapter, the story is really wrapping up. I think those who have been following the story will really like the turn of events. Remember to leave a review.**

** Master Drummer: After I finish PBFCI I will most likely start making mini stories focusing on the other characters, so there will be Gaige!**

** Daveth2112: I thought his death was gruesomely satisfying, didn't you?**

** tAll3Shyguy Skull Land: Ohohoho, you'll see! :)**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: Yeah, Zer0 and Angel have an interesting relationship. She's probably the most compassionate out of all the characters, while Zer0 is probably the most cold blooded and emotionless. I like it when opposites work out though! As for Axton, I wanted to put him through a grieving stage so all the readers REALLY wanted him dead. Seems like it worked! Also, I'm glad you got the matrix reference!**

Chapter 15: Revolution to Revelation

The Crimson Raiders returned to their hiding spot within the DAHL containment sphere, using Gaige's technology to stay under the radar. Roland had a large blue sheet of paper spread out before him with plans written out on them, they may have gotten away with charging this time, but Katelyn Dahl wouldn't be so forgiving again. He looked through each plan, trying to pick something but one similar problem arose with each; they were extremely outnumbered. If they were to launch an attack on Katelyn, she would bring her whole army to defend her. Plus, if she had the lamp, who knew what kind of secret weapons she had? Along side him was Lilith, Axton, and Angel, who was extremely determined to take Katelyn down. "We just don't have the numbers for this kind of attack," Axton said as he shook his head, agreeing on what Roland had previously mentioned.

"Well then we'll have to make up for it, she needs to go down HARD!" Angel yelled, slamming her fist on the makeshift table.

Roland looked around nervously, trying to see if she had alerted anyone with her outburst, "calm down Angel, I know you want her to pay for all she's done, but an attack like this would be suicide."

"We can't just let her win though, we've got to keep fighting!"

Lilith put her hand on Angel's shoulder, trying to sooth the angry siren, "Angel please just listen; we need more time. It's plain and simple, we don't have enough men for any of the plans we've made." The planet shook again as purple slag orbs started to appear all over the facility, then burst violently. Gaige ran over towards them with a worried look on her face. "I hate to say it guys, but Angel may be right. By my calculations, we only have a couple more days before the fabric of space collapses on itself!"

"Well how are we supposed to get more troops in that small amount of time?" Roland asked, frustrated with their time limit.

Lilith put her arms around him and said, "It's not over yet, maybe we can raise an army."

"How are we supposed to put together an army that big?" Mordecai sighed in exasperation

"I may be able to help with that."

All the Raiders turned and saw a woman with brown hair in red and grey light combat body armor. "Athena?" Roland said in disbelief, he didn't think he'd ever see her again.

"Consider this a thank you for killing General Knoxx," Athena said as she approached the group. When she reached the large box the Raiders were using as a table and looked over towards Zer0. "Well, if it isn't the prodigal son," she laughed as the assassin got up and walked towards her.

"Hello Athena, this is a real surprise, how's Omega Squad," he asked bitterly, trying to repress his memories of his time on the team.

Athena looked over at him when she heard the sorrowful tone of voice, "Look Zer0, I know we've had some fights, but I want you to know I'm sorry. My husband's death wasn't your fault, but part of what I said was true. You worked as if you were alone, you could never be part of a team, but it seems you've changed."

"As glad as I am to see you, one person still isn't going to make a difference," Roland told her, looking back towards his attack plans.

"Well I'll admit it, Omega Squad is broken. Only one other member besides me was alive when Zer0 left, but that man has been recently, dispatched."

Zer0 displayed a question mark over his head, "But how can this be, Theta was so capable, how was he murdered?"

"Well news has it that you and Angel dispatched him, I believe he was called Saturn before you killed him," Athena answered, thinking back on how he had abandon Omega Squad for DAHL.

Zer0 shook his head and said, "That's not possible, Theta was not a cyborg, he was a human."

"Zer0 things change, he got those implants when he joined the company, you have his sword don't you?" Zer0 pulled out the red katana, which he had kept just in case. As he examined the weapon, he realized he did remember it; this was Theta's sword. Athena smiled sadly and said, "It's alright Zer0; he had betrayed us anyways. He sold out to become 'Saturn'."

"From what I've heard we trained you pretty well though," Athena told him as she patted the assassin on the back, "and I'm sure we can defeat Katelyn just like all the others."

"I hate to burst your reunion, but we still don't have enough people!" Axton said, slightly annoyed that the two were ignoring the main problem at hand. Athena laughed and turned towards him. "Alright, alright then. You know that you all have been causing DAHL quite a huge amount of trouble ever since you've been attacking their facilities. They've been diverting a huge amount of resources to trying to stop you, even taking troops from sanctuary…"

"You don't mean," Roland asked hopefully.

"Yep, C'MON OUT BOYS!" Hundreds of Crimson Raider soldiers walked around the corners of the ally way, filing in around their fearless leaders. Athena smirked, "You guys have your army back."

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Katelyn stood by her resurrection machine, trying to get it to work more efficiently. As she worked she got more and more frustrated, bringing back John was seeming like a more and more distant possibility.

"Mrs. Dahl, we have a huge problem," her new Lieutenant reported shakily.

"What is it Lt., can't you see I'm busy?"

"Well, sanctuary… and the Raiders… and… and…"

Katelyn turned towards the man and yelled angrily, "SPIT IT OUT DAMN IT!"

"Sanctuary has fallen and the Crimson Raiders are right at our doorstep!" Katelyn froze, they couldn't be. How could this have happened? She looked over towards the machine in front of her, consisting of a body-sized tube and many wires connected to one power source, the lamp. No, they couldn't attack, not when she was so close. As she walked over towards the tube, she heard the lieutenant say, "Mam, we need to go deal with this right now." Katelyn glared back at him then turned and kissed the tube. "Soon John, soon we will have you back," she whispered, and then turned towards the lieutenant. "Take me to address them," she demanded as she followed the officer out of the room.

When Katelyn walked out onto the balcony of her office she saw before her two armies lined up, ready to fight to the end. Out of the sea of red, emerged Roland holding a megaphone. "Katelyn Dahl," he yelled into it, "surrender now and avoid the battle to come! Leave this planet, Pandora is not for you!" The crowd around him cheered and pumped their weapons into the air, filling the air with energy.

"I will not negotiate with you Roland, please disperse. I have no desire to wage war against all of Pandora!" Katelyn yelled back, trying to buy herself more time.

Roland called back, "Mrs. Dahl, you imprisoned our city, abused our people, and tried to crush our spirits with death and terrorism! Did you not think there would not be war?"

Katelyn glared towards him, seething with anger, "STAND DOWN ROLAND! If you try and take what's rightfully mine I will paint the planet red with blood!"

"You don't get it, you're not fighting against people; you're fighting against a purpose! You're fighting against a free Pandora!"

"We have the superior technology, a better equipped army, an army ten times the size of yours, stop this before you kill all who are lose to you!" Katelyn yelled, trying to stomp out the Raider's spirits.

"All the people beside me would die for this purpose, you can't discourage us!"

"What do you hope to accomplish here? You will only find defeat!"

Roland shook his head and smiled, "Funny, your husband told us the same thing."

Roland's last sentence struck her like a ton of bricks. He was right, John had told them the exact same thing, and he died by their hands. She looked down upon the crowd and for once, felt fear. John had them seriously outnumbered, outgunned, and outmanned too. The Raiders were chanting "LIBERTAS, LIBERTAS!"

"What are they saying?" the lieutenant asked her. She knew exactly what it meant, freedom. Katelyn really didn't want to fight; her love was not yet complete. She knew what she was doing to the universe, but it was worth it if she could get John back. "This is your last warning!" called the lieutenant, "cease your advance or we will fire on you!" Roland nodded towards the army of Raiders, who began marching ahead. The march sounded as if it was thunder, striking fear into the DAHL army's heart. "Stop marching!" The Crimson Raiders continued to push forward, not firing a shot. The lieutenant was about to yell another warning, when Katelyn grabbed his shoulder and turned him towards her. "Open fire," she calmly commanded as she walked back inside the building. The DAHL soldiers all aimed their guns and began to shoot at the crowd, causing the Crimson Raider soldiers to return fire. Soon it broke out into an all out battle, the two sides savagely killing each other, one for control and the other for freedom.

"Keep fighting, this is for Pandora!" Roland yelled as he stabbed a DAHL soldier then gunned down three more. As the fight pushed on, the casualties on each side were pretty evenly matched. Suddenly, DAHL's cyborg forces dropped from the roof into the fray, ready to wreck them. "NOW GAIGE!" Roland called as he slammed one of the soldiers with the butt of his gun. Gaige nodded and summoned Death Trap, who stood menacingly between the cyborgs and the Crimson Raiders. Angel dropped down in front of Death Trap, her eyes glowing white with fury. She shot a beam at Gaige's robot, causing it to glow white violently. In a matter of seconds, Death Trap multiplied, outmatching the number of cyborgs. The robots and half robots clashed, trying to beat the other side into submission. The ground started to become a dark shade of red, blood from both sides covering the once white pavement.

The leaders of the Raiders(including Athena) cut through their enemies together, charging the DAHL headquarters. They were ready to end this fight; Katelyn Dahl would pay for her crimes. When they reached the doors, Brick kicked them down violently before the others filed in. Roland looked around, analyzing his surroundings. Five Dahl soldiers burst through one of the doors, but were soon shot down by Axton and Salvador. "We should stick together, who knows how many Jack copies there are in here," Roland told them as he led the group towards the door the soldiers had come through.

As they followed the corridor, three soldiers ran towards them, trying to stop the rampage. Brick ran forward and punched one of them so hard, he broke the soldier's neck. As the dead soldier fell, Zer0 jumped over brick and cut down the soldier's comrade. The third soldier was lifted into the air with phase lock. Just as Zer0 was about to finish him off, Athena jumped over him and cut the soldier in half with her blade. She landed and smiled back at Zer0, who was looking pretty shocked. "What, I may be on the older side, but I haven't forgot how to use this thing," she said with a smirk as they continued down the corrider. As they ran, the world shook violently again, causing them to fall over.

"We have to stop this fast!" Gaige yelled over the slag explosions as she stood up. Roland nodded and continued to lead them down the twisting halls. The Raiders finally got to the lamp's containment room, but where ambushed by hundreds of soldiers. They backed up against the door while Gaige hacked it, trying to gain them access. The door flickered green and opened, but they still had too many soldiers surrounding them. Just as all of the backed in, something sparked up and they noticed the doors starting to close. In front of the door was Athena, holding her sword menacingly towards the soldiers. "You all destroy the machine, I'll take care of them!" Before anyone could protest, the doors closed on them, locking Athena out. Lilith looked behind her and saw the resurrection machine in all its glory. Lilith followed the wires with her eyes, assuming it would lead her to the lamp. As much as she looked, she didn't see it. "Where is this damn thing," she growled in frusturation, hoping their raid had not been for nothing.

"The lamp is up here," rasped a voice from above. Lilith looked up and gasped.

"L-luke?" Above them, connected to the machine, was a shriveled man, deformed and glowing purple slightly. The man smiled and coughed, "Hello Lilith, it's been a while…" Luke was truly a mess. His skin was pale and his eyes looked as if he hadn't slept for years. His body was still pretty deformed from the fall all those years ago, but he looked even worse with the tubes connected to him draining his energy.

"What, what did they do to you? How are you alive?" Roland asked in horror, looking at someone that was once strong and fit, but was now drained and tired.

Luke wheezed and explained, "Isn't it obvious, I'm the lamp."

"No," Mordecai laughed uneasily, "you destroyed the lamp. You're Luke."

"When I destroyed the lamp, all that power had to go somewhere. It ended up sucking me outside of the time stream; that is, until our dear Mrs. Dahl pulled me."

"Hold on, wasn't Katelyn using the phase warp drive in the New U stations to bring back the Jack before all this insanity?" Angel asked, now very confused.

Luke nodded his head with great difficulty and rasped, "She's using me to power the machine to do it. With all the power the lamp has given me, I can't contain my energy. I've become more powerful then the genie itself, but I couldn't match Katelyn. She drained me of most of my powers, leaving only eridian energy in my body. She's more powerful then ever!"

"Wait, how come you don't just break out?" Gaige asked

"All I have left is the raw energy that powers me, I've lost the power to control them to her. Without control of all this energy, my mere presence here is tearing apart the fabrics of time, you all have to disconnect me!"

Lilith cried out, "But then you'll die, and I don't want any more good people dying because of us!"

Luke sighed sadly and said, "Lilith, I wasn't supposed to live. I cheated death, and now I'm paying the price. Angel understands how painful this truly is, I'd rather be dead then live hooked up to this machine..."

Angel nodded and agreed, "It's true, having the life being slowly drained out of you is excruciating. It's like dying every second of every day."

Roland nodded solemnly and walked over towards the machine to deactivate it. Just as he was about to destroy the controls, he heard Lilith scream, "ROLAND LOOK OUT!" Something grabbed him from behind and threw him over towards the raiders, knocking down Mordecai and Axton. Before he got up he looked over to see what had thrown him, but was shocked to see that it was… himself? Before Roland stood himself, along with Zer0, Lilith, Maya, Gaige, Salvador, Moxxi, Mordecai, Axton, and Brick. He looked behind him, but saw that his friends were still there beside him. As he stood up as their copies drew their weapons, ready for battle. "Angel, what are you doing with them? We can bring your father back, don't you want that?" they heard Katelyn yell over the loudspeaker.

"NO, I don't! John died a long time ago, and I have accepted it! He's done too much for me to forgive, the world is better off without him!" Angel yelled back with tears in her eyes.

The loudspeaker went silent for a bit, then Katelyn said, "None of you are touching that machine, and to make sure that doesn't happen my doppelgangers will guard it with their lives. You'll find they are just as skilled fighters and just as savage as all of you." The copies stepped forward menacingly as the Crimson Raiders readied themselves for a fight. Angel teleported up to the tubes that connected Luke to the machines and called down to them "You all distract the robots while I disconnect him from this machine!"

Roland nodded and turned towards the Raiders, "You heard her, fight until you've got nothing left to fight with!" The group turned towards their doubles and readied themselves to fight their equals.

**A/N: OHHHH it's the battle of the clones! For the fate of the world! Luke is back! Review and favorite please!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: This is a huge action chapter, just letting you know! Due to some complaints, I have tried to break up the massive text walls in a way that keeps the flow of the fights. It's mainly divided up into each fighting their own double while Angel deactivates the machine, so enjoy!**

** deadpool69: Probably, I will try to make ones focusing and developing each character.**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: Don't worry this isn't the last chapter, that's probably what comes next. Hope you enjoy this fight huge fight chapter though, you're probably my most consistent reviewer so for that I thank you!**

** tAll3Shyguy Skull Land: Honestly, I'm just going to keep my lore when borderlands three comes out, assuming I'm still writing. Once I hit college I don't know if I will have time, and I'm close to graduating. So IDK, but we'll see what the future holds.**

Chapter 16: Double Vision

The two groups clashed, each fighting their own counterpart savagely. Axton ran towards his double wielding his tomahawk, ready to take the clone down. The two collided and started to swing and punch at each other with all they had. Axton's clone swung his tomahawk to the side, but was blocked and countered by the commando. He punched the clone across the face, and then dealt a devastating uppercut, causing it to reel backwards. The clone caught his next punch and slammed its knee into Axton's gut, causing him to double over. It swung its heel into the side of Axton's head and then elbow dropped him in the back. Axton countered the next attack with a jab to the stomach and a punch to the neck, followed by a powerful roundhouse kick. His double punched him in the shoulder, and then kicked him in the back, causing Axton to stumble to the side.

The commando growled in anger and frustration as he tried to jump kick it. The double blocked the kick with the handle of his tomahawk and slashed downwards, cutting Axton's leg and causing him to loose his balance. Axton hit the ground, but he was not out of the fight. While the clone raised its tomahawk for the finishing blow, he swiped at its legs causing it to trip. As if in slow motion, Axton jumped to his feet and slammed his tomahawk into the clone's gut as it fell. Axton stood for a couple seconds over the corpse of his double and pulled out the bloody ax lodged in its rib cage.

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Roland collided with his double, each pushing their bayonets against the other's. As the two tried to overcome each other, Roland's clone pushed his gun to the side and slammed the butt of its gun into Roland's face. It spun around and slashed down with its bayonet, cutting Roland's chest. Roland caught the next stab in the space between his bayonet and the barrel of his gun. He twisted his gun swiftly, causing the clone to loose its grip on the gun. Roland then swung his gun's blade into his double's side, cutting it deeply. His clone dodged Roland's next slash and kicked the gun out of his hands, then lunged at him with a knife. Roland pushed it off of him and drew out his bowie knife and spun it in his hands.

The two lunged at each other with their knives, going for the kill. Roland jumped back as the clone swiped at him and then jumped forward to stab at it. The clone punched his arm aside and swung his knife across Roland's face, splitting his lip. Roland staggered back as it ran towards him to finish its victim off. While it was in mid stab, Roland kicked upwards, causing his double's knife to fly out of its hands and lodge itself in the ceiling above. He then kneed the clone in the gut, following his attack with a stab to the temple when it doubled over. Roland then kicked it in the jaw as hard as he could, breaking its neck with a crack. The clone fell to the ground in a puddle of blood; Roland had beaten himself.

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Salvador laughed as he tackled his double and started to beat its face in mercilessly. Once the double's nose started to bleed, it kicked him off and let loose a fearsome jab to the stomach. Salvador doubled over and then was knocked into the air by the clone, clasping its hands together and swinging them up with all his might. The gunzerker flew into the air and dropped on his stomach, grunting in pain. He staggered up as his double ran towards him screaming like a madman, ready to rip his head off. When the double punched, Salvador blocked it and twisted its wrist outwards. The clone did not like that. It swung its other arm towards Salvador, but was its fist was caught and twisted once again, causing it to kneel down before its original in pain.

Salvador laughed, "You think you're tough pendejo? You think you have what it takes to claim the name SALVADOR!" The dwarf kept twisting his doubles arm as it wailed out, almost hoping for a swift end. Salvador heard a succulent crack as its bones and joints started to break, but he wouldn't stop. The double's skin started to stretch and eventually rip from all the strain Salvador was putting on its arms, blood exploding out as the gunzerker continued to torture his victim. Finally with a victorious laugh, Salvador finished his counterpart with a powerful head butt, slamming it so hard in the forehead that its torso ripped away from its arms. Salvador threw the two dismembered arms to the side and spat towards his dead clone. "You are a disgrace to my good looks puta!"

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Brick and his double ran towards each other and punched at the same time, their fists meeting in the middle, causing a small shockwave to emit from the impact. They started punching each other without mercy, each taking devastating hits from the other. Brick slugged his double in the side of the face, causing three teeth to fly out of its mouth. His clone returned the attack with a jab to the stomach and a powerful punch to the nose. With a crack, Brick's nose broke, but he didn't seem phased at all. He brought his fist up in an uppercut, knocking the clone into the air, then followed with a strong punch to the gut, knocking the clone to the ground. As the clone got up, Brick kicked it in the side of the head, knocking it down again. He started to wail on it as it tried to block each of his stomps, but Brick was too strong. The berserker continued to smash his foot into its face until its head was nothing but a bloody pulp. Brick snorted, "Nice try, but you'll never be as good as the first."

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Mordecai and Moxxi stood back to back as their doubles circled them menacingly. Mordecai nodded to bloodwing jr, who screeched and took to the air, then spiraled down towards his double. The Moxxi clone charged them and tried to stab them with her razor sharp stilletos, but Moxxi quickly knocked its leg away and whacked it with the butt of her guns, causing it to stumble backwards in a dazed state. Mordecai's double had finally knocked the bird away and turned to see both Moxxi and Mordecai's fists flying at it. They both punched it as hard as they could, sending it flying backwards. Moxxi's clone charged at the two with a small knife, trying to shank them. Mordecai bent over as Moxxi jumped over him and spin kicked her double, followed by Mordecai slamming his fist into its throat. The Mordecai double ran towards them and stabbed with its battle machete, catching Mordecai off guard in the shoulder.

Mordecai cried in pain as Moxxi quickly turned around and kicked the clone across its face, slicing it open with her razor heels. Mordecai stumbled back and yelled, "Damn it that's like the second time I've been hit in the shoulder!" He looked over and saw Moxxi in hand-to-hand combat with his double. From the corner of his eye, he spotted her clone sneaking up behind her, with the small but deadly knife. Mordecai roared in anger and through the knife towards it, cutting off the hand holding the knife. Moxxi's clone wailed in pain as it held the bleeding stump where its hand was once attatched. It sneered and turned towards him, but was soon stabbed in the back by Moxxi with the knife it haad tried to kill her with. Mordecai ran over and tackled his clone as it tried to swing at Moxxi. As they slid across the floor, Mordecai wrapped his hands around its neck and started to slam its head on the floor while choking it. His doubled flailed and screamed, then gasped its last as it collapsed lifeless on the floor.

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Maya swept at her clone's legs causing it to tumble to the floor. "Go to hell you shadow!" she yelled as she rocketed towards her clone, slamming her into the roof. The two floated across from each other as the clone smirked and laughed, "Maya you're pathetic, you act all tough and smart, but really on the inside you're sad and alone." Maya glared at it and held her hands out, shooting a huge slag vortex at the clone. Her double flew out of the way and strafed her, throwing purple energy orbs towards her. Maya whizzed up and down passed the projectiles, ducking and dodging through the explosive slag that was starting to form due to the time warp. The two shot towards each other and engaged in midair combat, kicking and blocking each other, eyes glowing blue with fury. Maya sin kicked her clone, causing it to flip over in the air. As her clone flipped backwards, Maya tackled it into the wall, causing the roof to shake.

"You're going to suffer you bitch," her clone growled as it phase locked Maya and shot towards her at blinding speeds. Maya's double dropkicked her into the ground, almost knocking the siren out. Maya spat blood as the clone approached her with a pistol and aimed it towards her head. "Tell brother Sophis I said hi." Before the clone could pull the trigger, Maya phase locked the pistol and jumped up towards it, grabbing the back of its neck and slamming its head against her knee. The double fell to the ground as Maya grabbed the pistol and finished it off by shooting it twice through the temple, making sure it was done for good.

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Gaige threw her hammer at her counterpart, who caught it with its robotic arm and through it back. She quickly jumped over the hammer and punched towards the clone, but missed and ended up cracking the floor where she hit. "Dad would be so disappointed," her double taunted as they circled each other, "he was arrested for trying to help you escape, and what do you do to repay him? Come out to Pandora to become a thief and a murderer." This set Gaige off, who screamed in rage and charged her clone swinging her cybernetic fist. The double blocked her punch with a kick to the wrist, followed by elbowing her in the chest. Gaige was knocked to the ground, but quickly jumped back up, determined not to let her copy win. She kicked the clone in the chest then backhanded it across its face, smiling victoriously the whole time. The clone held its cheek in anger and yelled, "Did you seriously just backhand me?"

Gaige laughed and grinned maliciously, "If it keeps you in line then yeah BITCH!" The clone ran towards her with its own hammer, but Gaige ducked under it and unleashed an uppercut on its jaw. The punch was so powerful that it sent her copy several feet in the air. Gaige grabbed the hammer and spun it around in her hands confidently as she waited for her clone to fall back down. Right before the double hit the ground, Gaige reeled back and threw the hammer as hard as she could towards it. The hammer slammed into the double's neck, breaking it instantly and sending it barreling away from her. Gaige dusted herself off then smiled towards her crumpled clone. "Hah, I didn't even need DT for that!"

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"I'm almost done," yelled Angel, "Just keep fighting!" Zer0 looked up to her to make sure she was alright, and then back towards his clone. The clone unsheathed two katanas; one red and one blue, and readied them as if it was waiting for Zer0. Zer0 looked down at his belt and remembered the katana he had taken from Saturn after their fight. He drew both swords out and readied himself, holdin the two blades out in a ninja like stance. In a split second, the fight had begun, the two charged at each other at lightning speed cocking their swords back so they could be swung in an instant.

Zer0 and his clone clashed in the middle and began to fight, countering and parrying each other's attacks. The clone swung at Zer0 horrizontally with both blades, but the assassin was too quick. He jumped in the air, over the swords, and kicked it in the chest, causing it to stumble back. Zer0 quickly followed up by swinging one of his swords downward, but was blocked by his copy. The clone swung his second sword at Zer0's feet, causing him to lose his balance. Zer0 fell down, and in an instant, the clone was stabbing downward, trying to impale him. Zer0 rolled to the side as its two katanas lodged themselves in the ground and swung his legs around in the air, knocking back the clone. It back flipped in the air and landed on its feet perfectly, as if it hadn't even been hit.

Zer0 charged towards it with his swords to his side as if he was going to lunge. The clone quickly spun around, expecting Zer0 to run right into its swing. Instead, he slid right under it and stabbed the ground with one of his swords to keep himself from going to far. Zer0 spun himself around the sword and kicked at its hands, knocking one of its katanas out of its hands. The double jumped backwards as Zer0 landed on the top of his red sword, which was lodged in the ground. It charged towards Zer0 with blinding speed, not giving the assassin a moment to react.

The clone stood behind Zer0 with his sword held high above his head. The front half of Zer0's body fell from the bottom a couple seconds after it had finished its lunge. A zero popped over the double's head, as it turned back towards its fallen victim. Suddenly, a katana burst from its chest in an explosion of blood, behind it was Zer0, laughing emotionlessly. The copy grabbed the blade of the katana sticking out of it, as if it couldn't believe it had lost. Zer0 withdrew the sword, kicking the dead body of his counterpart off and wiping the blade clean.

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Lilith floated in the air around her clone, waiting for someone to make the first move. _This will be interesting, the two most powerful sirens in Pandora fighting_, she thought as she hovered over the fighting below. Her clone finally became restless and charged her, moving into phase walk form. Lilith did the same, colliding with her copy in the phase dimension. The resulting collision caused a massive phase blast; knocking both the two back. Lilith growled and balled her fist, propelling herself straight towards her counterpart again. The two continued to slam into each other, causing explosions that were literally tearing most of the room apart. Each collision caused the building to shake violently; the two were almost doing as much damage as the machine was.

After multiple collisions, the two met in the middle for hand-to-hand combat. Lilith kicked, but the clone dived under and grabbed her leg, spinning her into the side of a wall. Lilith quickly recovered and pushed off of the wall and into her clone, punching her violently as they rocketed to the other side. She finished with a bicycle kick, causing the copy to slam into the opposite wall. Her double sneered and phase blasted Lilith, knocking her through the roof of the building. Lilith shook off the damage and quickly dived back in, gaining momentum and power as she closed in on her target.

When the siren let loose a punch that had so much force behind it, it shattered her wrist. The clone caught the full force of the punch and was knocked out of the sky. It hit the ground so hard, the concrete burst, leaving a crater where the clone lay almost lifelessly. Lilith swooped down and grabbed the double by its neck with her good hand and flew it out of the building and into the sky. "Sorry, but there can only be one firehawk," she said as her eyes started to glow red violently. Lilith unleashed a huge phase blast, causing her double to vaporize on the spot.

The siren breathed heavily as she slowly descended from the air, trying to regain her energy. She was so tired; she couldn't keep her siren wings up before she landed, causing her to fall out of the sky. Luckily, Roland was there to catch her, saving her from becoming a splat on the floor. She looked around as the Raiders regrouped, injured and tired, but alive. Suddenly, a loud explosion came from the machine, causing the whole group to focus their attention on Angel and Luke.

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They witnessed as the final tube burst, causing Luke to fall from his place in the contraption and onto the floor in front of them. Angel floated down and picked him up, helping him over towards the group. Lilith could already see that Luke's body was starting to evaporate, but she also saw something she hadn't seen in a while. For the first time in so long, Luke seemed genuinely happy. "Thank you all," he said with a tear in his eye, "for freeing me. Finally I can rest in peace, I couldn't ask for better friends."

"Luke, I'm… I'm going to miss you," Lilith cried as she limped over towards her dying friend.

Luke smiled and brushed her hair out of her face so he could see her fiery red eyes. "Lilith, don't be sad. You still have so much left; you have a bright future ahead of you. I'll be watching you as you help lead our beloved planet into a new age of peace."

Lilith sniffled and embraced him, not wanting to let go, "Luke, I'm sorry about everything. I hope that you find the same peace."

"I will," he said. Luke then turned to Roland and told him seriously, "Take care of her, treat her the way she deserves. I trust you with the most important thing in my life; don't let me down. Please, she deserves a happy and stable life after this."

Roland nodded and patted him on the back, "Don't worry, she'll be in good hands. We're all going to miss you soldier, you did your planet proud."

Luke nodded, his head being the only part of his body that still remained. As his face dissolved into the air, he whispered, "Never forget me."

Lilith broke down and cried her eyes out; Luke was now officially gone for good. After all he had done for her and this planet, he couldn't even see the fruits of their labor. But sometimes that's what it means to be a hero; sometimes you don't make it to the end. It's what you leave behind that really matters. Angel walked over towards the group with fire and tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry for all that my family has done to this planet and to all of you. This will all be over soon, very soon," she told them with determination. Angel turned towards Zer0 and said, "come with me, we're going to end this."

Zer0 nodded and asked, "What about the group, will they be okay Angel, should we leave right now?"

Axton limped over towards them and answered with a smile, "We're beat up and tired, but that's never stopped us. We'll be fine, just go and finish this one for Luke, will ya?" Zer0 nodded and followed Angel to Katelyn Dahl's office to kill the tyrant and free Pandora once and for all.

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Katelyn Dahl sat watching a video on her large monitor. In the video was a man and a woman feeding a little girl with jet-black hair, she was probably only five. The man suddenly threw a bit of food at the mom jokingly, who laughed and pushed him away. "John, stop it! Haha, there's not going to be any left for Angel!"

"Oh I think our little girl will be fine Katelyn," he laughed as he pulled her in to a hug. Katelyn shed a tear and smiled as she watched the best memories of her life. She knew it was over, her army had fallen, her machine had been destroyed, and the Raiders were outside waiting for her head on a stake. She just wanted to enjoy the memories for a little longer. She clicked a button on the remote that re-winded the tape and played it from the beginning, showing her and John pushing Angel on a small swing set they had once had.

Suddenly, something cold and metal hit her hard on the back of the head, causing her vision to blur a bit. She looked over at what had hit her and saw it was a handgun. "Pick it up." Katelyn turned and saw Angel holding a pistol, pointing it straight at her. "Pick up the gun."

**A/N: This, as I said earlier, is the second to last chapter. Hope you all have been enjoying it, and remember to leave a review and/or a favorite!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Here it is, the last chapter of Postbellum for the Certifiably Insane. I would like to thank all those who have been reading this story and leaving supporting reviews as I wrote it. This story had been so much fun for me to write, maybe even more fun then the last one. This is not the end though, I will be writing short stories focusing on characters and their life after the war. Keep an open eye for them and I hope you all enjoy the final act of my story.**

** Meta: Yup, they convinced me to go for the more solemnly. I figured I had had enough fighting in this story, and needed some serious closure. Kudos for noticing!**

** BubbyGum24: I don't think I've left any too bad cliff hangers in this story, but remember I will be writing more!**

** Isaac Clark aka Reven: I would like to again thank you for being my most consistent reviewer and supporter. I hope you enjoy this last chapter! **

Chapter 17: The Finale

"Hello Angel, have you come to visit your mother?" Katelyn said as she turned back towards the screen.

"Pick up the damn pistol, I'll be damned if I kill someone who is unarmed."

Katelyn shook her head, "I'm not going to fight my own daughter. I've already lost enough."

"Katelyn I'm not you daughter. I have no parents, not anymore," Angel said coldly, keeping her pistol trained towards Katelyn. Katelyn picked up the pistol, but did not even turn towards her daughter, rather continued to look at the happy family on the screen, watching young Angel and her dear husband; how she missed him so. "I love you daddy," the young Angel laughed as John picked her up and gave his daughter a hug.

"I love you too sweetheart," he answered.

Katelyn finally turned towards Angel and said, "You know your father used to be a great man, before all this. He didn't deserve the fate that had befallen him."

"My father was a monster and used me for his own personal gain," Angel growled.

Katelyn sighed, "I'm not saying I forgive him for what he did, but everything I've done here is for you. All I wanted was for you to have a family again."

"Well if you had just looked around, you could have seen that I already have a family. One that loves and cares for me, that's more than you or John has done."

"I see…" Katelyn said as a tear rolled down her cheek. She turned towards Angel with a sad and solemn look; she was done fighting. She was done fighting for a lost cause that would only end in more death and more suffering. After a couple seconds of silence Angel cocked her pistol, and was about to pull the trigger when Zer0 knocked it out of her hands. Angel turned towards Zer0 and yelled, "What are you doing?"

"Angel, it's over, we've already won this war, there's nothing left here."

"What are you talking about? I need to kill her, not just for me, but also for Pandora! All of this is her fault!"

Zer0 shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder, "Then let her face Pandora's justice. Look at her Angel; she's already dead. She's defeated and tired."

"I don't care! I need this! This is closure!" Angel yelled, trying to tug the gun out of the assassin's hand. Zer0 broke the pistol and told her, "You once said to me that it's important to be able to let something go. Katelyn has fallen; she's faced justice through failure. Now it's time to let go and move on for the good of Pandora." Angel stopped fighting when she heard these words. She sighed and let go of his arm and walked over to Katelyn, who looked up towards her daughter. Angel took the pistol from her hands and threw it to Zer0, who caught it and holstered it in his pocket. Angel told her silently, "Mom, I just want you to know that nothing you or dad has done has been for me. It's all been for your own selfish gain, and because of it good people have died. I just hope you can live with that." As the two turned and left, they heard Katelyn call back to them.

"Angel, wait." Angel turned around and faced her mother, who was now standing right in front of her. "I can't live with it, that's why I want you to let me give you this." Katelyn touched Angel and suddenly her tattoos started to glow, reacting with Angel's own. Suddenly, Dahl's tattoos started to fade as Angel's began to glow more violently. After a couple seconds, Katelyn dropped to the floor and smiled up towards them. Angel checked herself to make sure she was alright, hoping that her own mother hadn't done anything to end her.

"What did you do?!"

"I took part of the lamp's power for my own just in case. In you know lies incredible cosmic energy, enough to do anything. You know have the power to change this planet," Katelyn rasped as she felt her breath escaping her, "all my power and memories I give to you my Angel. Please, use them better then I have, civilize the borderlands and make it safe for you children and theirs as well. This is my last gift to you my love." With that, she breathed her last. Angel let a tear fall, for the mother and father that she had once had. Zer0 put his arm around her lovingly, trying to comfort her.

"She did care for you, she just was blinded by it, her gift is great though," Zer0 said as he bent over to close her eyelids in respect for their fallen enemy.

Angel nodded, "With these powers, we can bring actual peace to Pandora. We can make it safe for the good people that live on it." Zer0 turned and left the room, and was soon followed by Angel. Before she left, Angel turned and said, "Goodbye mother, I hope you rest in peace."

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Roland stood in front of the army of Crimson Raiders, ready to address them all. He looked out and saw a sea of blood, but also hope. He saw hope for civilization in the savage planet, hope for unity and peace. "Hello my fellow soldiers," he began, trying to sound upbeat for the army's sake, "today, we taste victory. Victory that would not have been possible if not for all of you." The crowd cheered loudly for their leader as he smiled down on them. Roland continued his speech, "While we may have won, we've lost many brave men and women, including a dear friend of mine. For the first time, I would like to commemorate Luke Powers. Luke was a brave man, who always put others before himself and made the ultimate sacrifice to save us all not once, but twice. There is one more person I would like to thank, Katelyn Dahl."

The whole crowd went silent, wondering if he had lost his mind. "Katelyn Dahl may have been our enemy, but she also gave us the strength we needed to push forward into a new age. With her powers, we can finally bring the peace we have always desired to our beloved planet, but not for personal gain like Jack once did. Angel will help us create cities, homes, and food to help being our civilization. While I will not expect everyone to change, I do hope that you all will give society a shot. The Crimson Raider army started to clap loudly, everyone was tired of killing one another for selfish gain. The warriors of Pandora finally laid down their weapons and embraced their brothers and sisters, ready to walk together towards peace and civilization, not for any corporation, but for themselves and the planet.

After the speech, Roland met with all the important players in the revolt against DAHL. He looked around and saw all the people that had been with him every step of the way and the people who had joined the fight later on. "I just want to let you all know how proud I am of you. We've all grown over these times, and I hope you will all help us bring some sort of order to Pandora. Salvador let out a sad sigh, "I guess we couldn't ride the gravy train forever eh?"

"Buck up sweetheart, there will still be an army," Scarlett told him, nudging him with her elbow playfully.

Maya stepped forward and asked Roland, "So where do we go from here? We've actually managed to bring together most of Pandora under the Crimson flag. Now what?"

"I believe we'll have to make some sort of government. While we may have beaten both DAHL and Hyperion, we need to stand strong against the governing powers of other planets."

"I can help you all with that, my time in the Lance has taught me well," Athena volunteered, limping over towards them with a large cast from her fight.

Roland nodded, "Once we set up a government, we will have a planet to call our own. One that won't be taken advantage of, one we all can all be proud of."

The group gathered together and planned out their structure for the New Pandora and a new age of peace.

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Two years later…

Roland sat at his desk, filling out his paper work. New laws flooded his desk as their quest to bring together Pandora succeeded. Along with laws came recognition from other planets, some wanting to be trade partners, other wanting alliances in case of war. He had to admit, his new job was not quite as exciting as his original, but it was definitely more fulfilling. Eden-16 wanted to be trade partners eh? Oh well, might as well send that one down to Maya at interplanetary relations. He scribbled his signiture on the proper forms and sent them over to her department to have it worked out. As he worked, the bell on his door suddenly rang. He looked up and saw Lilith walking over towards his desk. She smiled and bent over to kiss him on the cheek, then asked, "How are things going mister president?"

Roland smiled and sighed, "Well I have a lot of things to do, but I'll manage."

"Well I just came over because someone had to see you."

A little boy ran from behind Lilith and jumped up into Roland's arms, giving him a big hug. "Hey buddy, how's it going?" Roland laughed as the boy let go and walked back over to Lilith.

"He's been causing quite the ruckus lately, but I guess being the first boy siren is a pretty big deal," Lilith said as she picked him up in her arms.

"Yeah," Roland responded, "well I'm sure he'll do fine, he's got you to teach him right?"

"Yeah it's a handful but… Luke! Stop that!" Lilith snapped as the little boy let loose a small arc of energy, knocking down a couple chairs in Roland's office. "Haha, I see he's getting the hang of his phase shock abilities," Roland laughed as he turned back to his work, signing more and more papers.

Lilith nodded, "Well he is your son. Just try to come home earlier today, I don't think I can handle the little rascal on my own."

"Sure thing honey," Roland gave Lilith a kiss and then she and Luke walked out of his office, leaving the president to his work. Lilith quickly peeked her head in and said, "Oh and one more thing, remember that Maya and Axton's marriage is coming up soon, so make sure you leave a space open." Roland nodded to her and waved her off, trying to finish up his papers as quickly as possible.

As Lilith walked out, she passed by Mordecai, who looked like he was on his way to see Roland himself. "Hey Mordecai," she greeted him with a wave.

"Hey Lil, is Roland in there?" he asked as Luke played with Bloodwing Jr

"Yeah, but he's got a bunch of work and I need him home tonight. What do you need?"

"Well I've just been having trouble keeping down some of the remaining bloodshots. They've been raiding some of our malls and scaring off tourists, which we kinda need," Mordecai sighed in exasperation, frusturated with the killers.

Lilith laughed, "Well the idea of a police is kinda new to this planet Mordecai, who said inforcing the law would be easy?"

"We have pretty loose laws anyways, heck there aren't many capital crimes at all! How hard is it not to set off explosives in convenience stores?"

"I dunno, but some people are still dead set on the anarchy this planet once was," Lilith told him, trying to cheer him up. As the new chief of the Pandora Enforcers, Mordecai had been facing some pretty huge challenges. Many had been generally accepting of the new rules and regulations, but there were still a good amount of psychopaths left on the planet, reletivly speaking at least. "Well I wish you luck," Lilith told him as she held Luke's hand and pulled her son with her towards their home.

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"I want to thank you all for coming to my wedding," Axton said as he stood at his table, "I've had some bad experiences before, but I trust that Maya won't treat me as badly as my first wife."

"As long as you keep that ego in check," Maya joked as everybody raised their glass. Axton couldn't have been happier; he had finally ended up with the woman of his dreams. He had proposed to her through his pet skag, Dukino, who she found strangly adorable. After they had killed its vicious mom, the little skag stayed with them in Sanctuary, which was now a full-fledged city. As they ate, Axton thought back on when he had gone through this with Sarah. With satisfaction, he could say that he was over her. She had hurt him badly, but Maya was always there for him. The siren was truly someone he would die to save; it was a great feeling.

Everyone turned their attention to Salvador, who stood up with Scarlett around his arms and proposed a toast. "A toast, to Pandora! May she rise from the ashes like a great phenix, leaving a burning path of glory!" Everyone cheered for their beloved planet, which they could finally enjoy to its fullest. Axton laughed as Salvador continued his speech, during which the gunzerker compared himself to a sexual tyrannosaurus. The ex commando reached across the table and took Maya's hand and pulled her towards the balcony as the guests danced and celibrated.

"What is it honey, we still have people to hang out with," Maya said with a smile, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I just wanted to enjoy this moment," Axton answered as they gazed up to the stars and moons, "this really is a beautiful night."

Maya laughed, "Don't get all philosophical on me honey, we really should get back to the guests."

"Yeah, but think about it. We're the second couple ever to be married on Pandora!"

"What about Moxxi's first three husbands?"

Axton pulled her close and said, "I meant legitimate couples Maya."

Maya kissed him lightly on the lips, "I know sweetheart." The two continued to gaze upon the stars, living in the moment as best they could. After a little bit, Brick burst through the balcony doors and yelled, "Guys come on in here, Steve just started to sing 'Heyaaa'!"

"Alright, we'll be right in buddy, just give us a bit," Axton laughed, secretly wanting to go hear the famous singer's hit song.

"Alright, just don't take too long,"

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Zer0 stood atop the tallest skyscraper of Sanctuary, looking over the whole city. The building had been erected over where the office of Katelyn Dahl once stood. It was the night right after Axton and Maya's wedding. The streets were lit with the lights of traffic and windows. Sanctuary seemed to never truly sleep, much like Pandora before civilization. The assassin came up here whenever he needed to think or just let go. The soft winds blew around him as he crouched vigilantly, guarding the night.

He and Angel had started an official relationship now that everything had calmed down. Being only 24, he didn't think he was quite ready to take anything to the next level, but he knew Angel was the one for him. He had learned so much from her, and she from him. Angel had taught him sympathy and forgivness, he had showed her how to stay strong in the face of adversary. As he continued to think and watch the world around him, he heard a strange warped noise behind him. Zer0 turned and saw Angel floating behind him with a warm smile.

She floated down next to him and laughed, "Now how did I know I'd find you here?"

"You know me to well, how's the job going Angel, are you exhausted?"

Angel linked her arm around his and answered, "Well teaching the history of Pandora is pretty difficult since not much is known about the eridian race, but it's important. We have to learn from our mistakes so we don't make them again, and believe me; we have a lot of mistakes."

Zer0 pulled her in closer, "You're a great teacher, I have learned so much from you, so much about life."

"Well you've taught me quite a bit too," Angel responded as she pulled off his helmet, revealing Zer0's true face. Zer0 smiled, his eyes filled with new life since the Pandorian Revolution. She pulled him in closer, so close he could feel the her breath becoming one with his. "Angel," he said with a loving smile.

"Yes?"

"I love you."

**A/N: And cue curtain, that's a wrap people. This ending was definitely happier then the one from HSFCI's. I tried to leave it open so I could add on to the lore as I thought up of more fictions, but just note that it may not be for a bit. I have exams and other butt crap, so it may be a bit before I release any of the promised short stories. Thank's for reading my story, and I hope you liked it!**

***Edit* Just putting this request out there, if anyone is an artist and wants to draw any of the OCs, I would appreciate it! I'm not expecting anything, but if you do PM me a link to the picture. Thanks!**


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